The Decline
by Elillierose
Summary: What starts off as seemingly nothing quickly takes a downward spiral into something much more dangerous. In which something is horribly wrong with Prompto, but it goes mostly unnoticed until it begins to get drastically worse.
1. Lurker

**Huge thanks to SinikkavonWolperting for beta reading this for me, was well as collaborating with me for this one. Hoping to make this one a longer story. So hopefully you guys enjoy it. OwO**

His foot sunk down once more into the marshy ground they traversed through, this time sinking as far as to the middle of his lower leg. "Aw, come on!" Prompto groaned as he tugged at his leg to free it from the swamp's grasp. "This is so gross, I got water all in my shoe now." he whined to himself as he freed his limb.

"Well, maybe if you would be more careful where you stepped, it wouldn't be an issue." Gladio advised as he threw an arm over his shoulders.

"And how am I supposed to do that when it all looks the same?" Prompto replied, gesturing to the ground around them. He wrinkled his nose as a waft of the murky waters wretched scent reached his nose. "Ohh, it's gonna take weeks to get rid of this smell. Cindy wouldn't come within ten feet of me like this."

"Yeah, because she was all over you before." Noctis teased sarcastically from ahead.

Ignis was in front of Noctis leading the way. He listened to the friendly banter, but decided not to join in and instead to devote his full attention to navigating the four of them through this treacherous terrain. Although it seemed as though the main threat was getting lost with all the fog that clouded the area.

"Hey, she may not have come close to me physically, but mentally, mentally and emotionally, we have real connections." The love-struck blonde took a deep breath, "You just wouldn't understand."

"Can't argue with that." Noctis laughed to himself, "I don't think anyone would quite understand."

Noctis turned his attention back in front of him, not soon after he heard another squashing sound followed by a distinct and annoyed, "Son of a bitch!"

"So, where exactly is this tomb supposed to be?" Noctis asked Ignis, picking up his pace to walk next to him, all the while hearing Prompto's mumbling complaints in the background.

"I'm not entirely certain of its exact location." He answered coolly, "But it should be a couple days perhaps once we get through this marsh. The information I gathered was a bit on the vague sides of things."

The prince huffed out a puff of frustrated air, "So, in other words, you don't really know."

The older man glared out of the corner of his eye, "'Not knowing' is completely different than having a basic idea of where something is. If I didn't know then I would not even know which direction it was in." He pushed his glasses further up his nose, "With that being said, I know about where it is."

"Right." Noctis turned his head to the side. Nothing he could do about it. This lead was the best they had gotten in days, they would be fools not to at least try it out. "And all he gave you is the general area? No directions or anything? Seems like he would have had at least a little bit more information than 'Hey, I think it might be over there somewhere.'" Despite him knowing it was the best they had, that still didn't stop him from being slightly annoyed.

Ignis was about to reply, but Gladio's shout pulled his focus away, "Watch where you're going!" He looked back to see Prompto clutching onto Gladio's jacket, the only thing that saved him from a dip in the muddy water.

"Sorry." He quickly blurted out, retracting his hands, "Something's under the water though, I felt it brush past my leg."

"Relax, it was probably just a fish or something." The larger man responded, straightening his jacket back out. "You're overreacting."

"No-I...it." Prompto fumbled around his words, unsure of how to explain it, "I wasn't overreacting. I know what a fish feels like, and that was no fish." He spoke quickly, voice high in very apparent fear. He shuffled his feet around, feeling around cautiously.

"Prom, you get startled way too easily, I'm sure it was just your imagi-"

"It wasn't my imagination!" Prompto snapped, cutting Noctis off. "Sorry." He quickly apologizing, realizing his tone. "I didn't mean to yell, but you have to believe me. Something was there. And it wasn't a fish." He added, cutting his eyes over to Gladio.

Ignis gave him the benefit of the doubt on this one. "If you really did indeed feel something sinister, then I'll assure you that I will be more vigilant should anything be lurking nearby. And I would expect you all to do the same." He effectively closed the discussion, giving his final word on the incident. He spun back around and continued forward without waiting for a response from the others.

Noctis followed closely behind him, and next was Gladio. Prompto waited behind for a few seconds, eyes locked onto the water, expecting something to pop out at any moment. But nothing ever did, and he was beginning to wonder if it really was just his mind playing tricks on him.

"Prompto, are you coming?" He heard Ignis call. He looked up, noticing they were quite a few feet away.

"Oh, yeah, coming!" He replied, giving one last glance into the water before trudging along into somewhat of a jog to catch up with the others.

This particular marsh seemed to stretch on for much further than they had originally thought, for they had been wading through it for nearly an hour. They all were now thoroughly soaked up to their waists by this point. No matter how careful they were, there was no avoiding drop-offs altogether. All were worn out by this point, the constant resistance of the environment was doing everything it could to work against them.

The only think making this worse was the thickness of the fog as it had only gotten more concentrated as the day wore on. They could barely see a few feet in front of them anymore and had to resort to walking directly behind one another just to keep from losing anyone.

"I can't see a damn thing. Are you sure we're still heading in the right direction?" Noctis asked, starting to feel a tad on the uneasy side now.

"We've only been going in the same direction this whole time." Ignis answered, confidence embracing his words. "As long as we keep to it, we'll find the edge of it. You just have to be patient."

"I don't think patience is what we need right now." Prompto joked from the back, trying his absolute bet to wring most of the water out of the bottom of his shirt. . "Dry clothes would be nice. Maybe a fire. You know, I might even settle for a cave right now." He slapped at a mosquito that was having a lovely little snack upon his neck, "At least caves don't have bugs like this." He wiped the mushed insect remains on the side of his pants.

"That sounds splendid and all, but we won't have any of that until we find an applicable place to set camp." Ignis promptly reminded him.

"Yeah yeah, I know." Prompto sighed, leaning his head slightly back as he walked. He still couldn't get that occurrence out of his head. He's had that anxious sensation ever since. Something just seemed off and he wanted out of this stupid swamp as soon as possible.

"Don't worry, it has to end at some point." Gladio tried to comfort. He could tell something had been bothering the younger, and he couldn't blame him considering the lack of visibility. It was enough to set them all on edge a bit, and him being one of the youngest and inexperienced of the group, it was no wonder he wasn't very well composed.

"Gladio's right, it can't possibly go on forever." Ignis agreed. "Sooner or later it's going to have to come to an end." He stopped abruptly, stumbling slightly when Noctis ran into his back, but managed to stay on his feet.

"Hey, waddya stop for?" The prince asked, sounding a little irritated at the lack of warning.

"It looks as though we'll get our opportunity to rest sooner rather than later after all." Ignis answered. Noctis peaked around the older man and felt relief over the sight of those familiar glowing markings that pierced through the grey veil.

Prompto could feel all the tension flood out of him at the sound of that. Exhaustion soon settled in the emptiness that stress had left behind, and he now found himself wanting to take a nap more than anything. He finally felt safe enough to let his guard down. He still stayed close behind Gladio though as they walked, still not trusting anything as long as his feet were still in that water.

They all readily climbed onto the haven, relaxing at the knowledge that they would at least be safe for the night. The four of them wasted no time in setting everything up. Gladio worked on the fire, while Noctis and Prompto got to setting up the tent. And of course, Ignis was left with the cooking like always.

Soon, all but Ignis were seated around the fire, absorbing the warmth and comfort they all desperately craved. Their clothes still felt stiff and uncomfortable from all the dirt and grime that still clung to it, and the heat didn't help with the smell any either. It was almost enough to chase away their appetite as the scent was nothing less than repulsive.

Ignis was aware of this so he settled on making something light and simple, cooking just a plain broth with a few vegetables in it. He distributed the bowls out to the others, who accepted them gratefully. Even though none of them really felt like eating, they couldn't deny that even something this elementary was turned into something delicious thanks to Ignis' skilled touch.

Their meal was finished in relative silence, all of them were ready to go to sleep and let the aches drain from their bodies. This time, they all assisted in cleaning up, wanting to get it over with as soon as they could. After all, it wouldn't have been fair to leave it all to Ignis, even if he did insist in his usual manner. He gave them his thanks, truly appreciating the offered help. Without much conversing they crawled into the tent and got comfortable for the night, falling asleep faster than they had expected.

Prompto wasn't sure what it was that woke him. Didn't know if it was a sound. Or if it was a sensation. For all he knew it could have just been his paranoia kicking in. But whatever it was, it didn't feel right. Something was out there, he knew it. And it was close, terribly close. He gazed around the tent, seeing the others were still out, which was punctuated by their light snores and breathing. No reason to wake them on a hunch he figured.

He gently crawled over them, mindful not to touch any of them as he did so. Upon exiting the tent he flipped on his light, giving the area a quick scan and coming up empty. He glanced back over his shoulder to confirm the others were still asleep before taking a few steps away. With this he did a more thorough search of the edges of the haven, still finding nothing. He came to the agreement that it was only him being overly suspicious of nothing and turned to go back to sleep, switching his light off as he did so.

With one step, something caught his attention. It was a strange sound. Listening closer he heard it again, it was like a grotesque gurgling or groaning noise. He warily rotated his head around, looking towards where he thought the sound had come from. He knew he really shouldn't, but curiosity got the better of him. He had to know what the hell that thing was. It had followed them all the way out here after all. Going against his better judgement, he pursued the unwarranted guest, creeping ever closer to the edge of the haven.

Prompto dropped to his hands and knees as he heard the sound again, and crawled over to look over the ledge. Bubbles rose and popped along the surface. He leaned in closer, turning his light back on, hoping to get a glimpse at whatever was down there. There was movement, he was sure of it. If only he could actually see.

Before he could process what was happening, a putrid smell filled his nostrils and stung his eyes. His first instinct was to cover his face with his hand, to protect it what little he could. It was almost enough to make him want to puke. This was not the natural scent of the swamp, this was far more foul. He quickly shuffled back, jumping and crying out as something firmly wrapped around his leg and began tugging. He wasn't strong enough to protest against it and he was effectively dragged over the edge, instantly being pulled under the surface.

Reflex kicked in as he tried desperately to fight off whatever had a hold on him. But he couldn't get out of its death grip, and he could feel it digging into his leg to the point where it was painful. His eyes were opened wide in horror and panic. Everything seemed to freeze, all around him were tentacles as he looked directly at a teeth riddled mouth. This wasn't happening. In a desperate last attempt at freedom he called his pistol and aimed it at the tentacle that was wrapped around his leg. He fired without a second though, successfully causing it to release him.

It seemed like a lifetime before he finally emerged, he hadn't even noticed he had been pulled under so deep. He took in a greedy gasp of air the moment he broke through. He didn't get much time to recover before something else grabbed at his upper arms and pulled him upward. He was getting ready to fend this off as well when they came into view. It was Ignis and Gladio. What were they doing here? They were each holding on to one arm as they lifted him out of the water.

Prompto just lied there for a moment as things went in and out of focus, trying to catch his breath. The others were talking to him, and the looked concerned, but for some reason he couldn't figure out why they would be worried. Soon the ringing in his ears began to ebb away and he could make out their words. He carefully sat up with the help of Noctis. "What's going on?" He asked hoarsely, lungs still burning from lack of oxygen.

"What do you mean, 'What's going on?'. We just had to pull you out of the water. What the hell were you doing in there anyway?" Gladio pressed, not sounding the least bit happy.

"I...I...I don't remember." Prompto stuttered out. "I thought I heard something and went to check it out." He looked back out towards the water. "I guess I must have slipped and fell in. But I don't remember that happening." He suddenly felt unbearably exhausted and found that just keeping his eyes open was a task in of itself.

"Let's get that soaked vest off, shall we?" Ignis suggested, letting his more gentle side shine through, seeing that being tough on Prompto right now would do no one any good. He stepped behind him and slid the material off, placing it on the ground next to the fire to try and dry it out some. "Shoes and socks as well." He added, repeating the process. "Prompto, if you thought something was out here, why didn't you wake anyone else?"

Prompto seemed to think about it for a moment. "I don't know." He answered quietly. "I'm sorry though, I should have. I don't know why I didn't."

"Please, just don't do that again, scared the shit outta us." Noctis spoke up. "Waking up to one of your friends yelling out isn't exactly the most pleasant you know."

That's odd, he didn't recall ever screaming. "My bad." He said instead. It was bad enough he didn't remember falling in, but forgetting other things as well would not have gone over well with the others.

"Maybe you should just got back to sleep." Ignis held a hand out for him, which he thankfully accepted. The older man walked him over back to the tent with a hand placed on his back and helped to guide him back inside, making sure there were no more incidents. He went in after him. Gladio soon went to join them, leaving Noctis standing alone outside. Looking out towards the swamp, he saw nothing, nothing but the usual murky water and suffocating fog. It was understandable that one would feel like they were being watched out here. He left it as the mind playing tricks and followed the others' example.


	2. The Dream

He struggled to get to the surface, it seemed so far away, yet just out of reach. It was as though something was holding him back. It was encircling his legs, holding on tightly as it was trying to pull him under deeper. Turning his head to face his attacker, he was faced with this horrid looking abomination of a creature. Those grotesque tentacle-like appendages were clinging desperately to him, dragging him ever closer to rows of its razor sharp teeth. He strained, but couldn't get loose. There was no getting away. This is how he was going to die. He gave one last attempt at freedom, finding for some reason, he was actually getting closer to it. He still had a chance.

He broke through the surface as his eyes snapped open. He was lying down. Wasn't he just in the water? Was that just a dream then? He realized his breaths were coming out fast and shallow. Panic was still present in his body, coursing through him. The next thing he noticed upon waking up was the stiffness the plagued his aching muscles. Why was he so sore; what did he do in his sleep? He had a vague image in his head, but he couldn't quite shake the fogginess from it and was left with snippets of memories as his most recent dream was fleeing him. Prompto eased his eyes open, wincing at the sunlight that poured in as it ambushed his still sensitive eyes. Why was it so bright? He pushed himself up into a sitting position as he leaned on one arm. Everything seemed to pulse with a light and dull throb. It wasn't enough to be painful, but it was definitely annoying.

"About time you woke up. We're already getting ready to go." He glanced up at Gladio, who was standing right outside the tent, arms folded over his chest. Gladio thought a moment before asking his next question, "Were you having a nightmare or something? You were twisting and turning an awfully lot."

Prompto groaned as he pushed himself the rest of the way up. Pressing a hand against his forehead, noticing the light sheen of sweat that coated it and replied, "Ugh, what the hell? What happened last night?" He rubbed his hand in circles, trying to clear out some of the cotton that filled his head.

Gladio peered over at the younger, "You don't remember? Well, you did seem out of it last night. So it wouldn't be surprising if you forgot."

Fractions of visions flashed behind his eyes, but it wasn't enough to piece together. "Hmm, I had the weirdest dream, I know that much. There was teeth, and this horrible smell. But I can't remember the rest." He concentrated harder on remembering, only to come up blank.

Gladio hummed to himself. "Ignis thinks you were probably sleep walking. Must have gone too close to the edge and fallen in." That and what Prompto had just told him, it did seem to add up.

Prompto looked down, trying to consider the possibility. It did explain a lot, but it still didn't feel right. Something just felt...off. Wrong almost. "I remember waking up on the ground, but nothing before that." He admitted, all recollection of the previous night lost to him. "I don't think I've ever sleep walked before though."

"If you have, you wouldn't remember it anyway." Gladio reminded.

Prompto sighed to himself, "Yeah." He said under his breath. "I guess you're right." He wanted to accept that to be the explanation as to what exactly happened, but he just couldn't. He jumped when there was a light weight placed on his shoulder.

"Come on, Ignis saved your breakfast for you. Also your vest, socks and shoes are right there." He pointed to one of the corners of the tent. He removed his hand and left Prompto alone to get himself together.

He reached over and dragged his clothes over, immediately pulling his vest back on. It was incredibly rigid, and saturated with the essence of the swamp. Not exactly ideal anymore, but it would be salvageable. Next were his socks. Pulling on his right one he flinched as a pain throbbed from beneath his pants leg. He pressed on it experimentally, getting the same results. Lifting up the material he automatically saw the source. Deep purple bruises adorned his flesh, wrapping all the way around. His dream came to mind again. But that was just a dream.

His fingers traced along the marks as he was lost in thought. Did that actually happen? Or perhaps he just banged it against the rocks when he fell in. He let the thoughts simmer a bit as he finished getting his socks and shoes on, ignoring how his muscles protested against being used as he stood up, especially those in his leg. He gave it a tested step forward before exiting the tent.

The other three were busy cleaning things up and gathering their supplies as he subtly ventured closer to them. Ignis was the first to notice his presence, "It's nice to see you awake." He greeted. "I left your share of breakfast over there." He pointed to one of the chairs that were still out where a plate sat with a couple pieces of toast on it. Ignis had decided to go the light route again, which Prompto was grateful for considering he didn't really feel like eating to begin with.

"Thanks." He said as he picked up the offered food. Now that he was actually looking at it, it seemed a lot more unappetizing than it was. But, he didn't want to seem rude, so he forced himself to take a bite out of it. The taste caught him off guard. It tasted different, not a good kind of different either. He chewed and swallowed anyway, almost gagging on the peculiar flavor.

Waiting until the others were focused on something else, he broke off a bite-sized chunk and tossed it into the water as a fish popped up to claim it. At least they were enjoying it, it was better than it going to waste anyway. Prompto repeated this until there were no traces of toast left. The one bite he ate still left an unpleasant aftertaste in the back of his mouth, lingering there far longer than he would have preferred.

Setting the plate aside, he joined the others in cleaning up and preparing for their departure, ever attentive of his surroundings. Just this constant feeling of restlessness was nesting in his chest. He pushed it away, trying to smother it and tell himself he was being irrational. It was this swamp; it was eerie and it was throwing his senses into overdrive. Things would be better the moment they got out of this place.

"Prompto?"

He perked up at his name being called. Noctis was standing next to him, looking at him intently, "Hmm?" He asked, wondering how he got so close without him noticing.

"You've been standing there, just staring. Are you alright?" Noctis held a level of concern in his eyes. This was a bit strange, even for Prompto.

The blonde looked around, seeing that most everything was taken care of, "Yeah." He replied slowly, bewilderment evident in his features, "Just zoned out a bit I guess." That uneasy feeling thinned out and he finally felt a little more relaxed. It was a nice change of pace, but it still didn't make any sense to him. "I'm alright." He continued, devoid of emotion as he pushed past Noctis to help with the remainder of the supplies.

Noctis stood there for a few more seconds before going back to what he was doing. He didn't want to push the matter further, even if it was obvious that something wasn't right. Prompto may have been denying that it was fine, but he had been standing there for nearly five minutes, and that...that was not fine.

They had to set off again once everything was cleared, and soon enough, their clothes were once again thrust into the world of grime disgust. The material quickly absorbed the muddy water they trudged through, soaking through and coating their skin. Prompto shuddered at the contact, grimacing as he did so. 'Not too much longer.' He told himself. 'Just relax, and you'll be rid of this place before you know it.'

Just like before, they had resorted to walking rather close to one another as the further they got from the haven, the more dense the fog became. It was nearly impossible to see two feet in front of them at some point, and even Ignis had a few moments of doubt as to whether or not they were still headed in the same direction. It felt as though this place had no end. He was now beginning to question whether or not he should have even trusted that man's words. He had no proof after all that anything was out there. It was nothing but rumors. Rumors and speculations.

Noctis must have had the same thought as his frustrations were now beginning to build up, "I swear, if this ends up being a waste of time." He crammed his hands into his pockets and tilted his head back slightly to look towards the sky, not that he could see it anyway.

"Noct, please do try to have more self-control." Ignis responded to his outburst with a sense of calm and authority. "Having some sort of optimism for once wouldn't hurt. You should give it a try sometime."

Prompto gave a light laugh from the back, "Please, Noct and optimism go together about as well as Gladio and shirts." He nudged the larger man in front of him with his fist in a joking manner.

Gladio smiled at that comment, "Yeah, and about as well as you and the ladies." He nudged back with his elbow.

Prompto gave an exaggerated gasp, "So not cool." He pouted, feigning hurt. "I only have eyes for one." He said in his 'daydreaming' voice. His distraction caused him to accidentally run into something, it felt like a piece of a tree and he struck it with his sore leg. He grit his teeth to keep from crying out, but still let a quiet hum escape. He leaned forward to try and attempt to grip at the offending limb.

Gladio heard this unusual noise and glanced over his shoulder. "You alright back there?" He asked, looking at the blonde who was now standing on one leg while rubbing the other.

"Mmmhmm." His voice came out high pitched and strained. "Old tree carcass." He pointed towards the water where he guessed it was. He then gave a thumbs up, "All good though." He straightened up and half walked, half hopped to catch up.

Gladio nodded, "Try to be more careful. If you hurt yourself, I'm not carrying you." He waved a hand as he turned back and carried on walking ahead.

"Hey, wait up." Prompto called, taking quicker steps so as not to get left behind. It wouldn't take very long to lose sight of them after all. "I've been meaning to ask," He started as he began walking next to Gladio, "Have any of you guys noticed anything, I don't know, off."

"Only you." Gladio answered, actually rather honestly.

Prompto's face fell a little,"You know what I mean. Like something s watching us. Or like it's following us. Now, I know we've been over this, but I just thi-"

"Prompto." Ignis cut him off. "Gladio told us about your dream." He took a deep breath, "And that's all it was, a dream. That combined with your sleep walking episode; it would make sense that you are feeling the way you are, but you have to understand the difference between imagination and reality."

The younger fell silent as heat rose to his face in embarrassment. He felt like a child being scolded for lying. He was the only one making a big deal about this, so maybe he was blowing it out of proportion. 'It was just a dream. It was just a dream' He told himself repeatedly 'Get it through your head already.' "Alright." He said flatly, letting himself fall back a little bit. "I won't mention it again." He assured the others as that uneasy feeling he came to dread began creeping back up on him.

He scanned around one more time, just for good measure, surprised that he could actually see a bit better now. Looking back in front of him, even the others seemed clearer. The fog was thinning out. After so long they could finally see properly, and as they went, they found more of their bodies to be above the water's surface until it was just their feet that were covered.

"It's about damn time." Gladio said, squinting to look through what remained of the fog. "Looks like there was some truth to that guys claims after all." Prompto peered around him to see actual land for the first time in what felt like forever. But for some reason, it didn't change how he felt. Tight uncertainty still surged upward from his chest.


	3. Oddities

"See, you just had to be a little patient." Ignis told Noctis with a smirk.

"Yeah, well we aren't there yet." The prince replied. "I won't believe until I'm standing in the tomb staring at the weapon for myself." He brushed his hair out of his face as he took the last few steps out of the swamp. The feeling of walking on solid ground again was almost thrilling in a sense. "But I will admit, it is nice not worrying if my next step will land me waist deep in liquid hell."

"I couldn't agree more." Prompto concurred, dropping to his knees and lying face down in the grass. "I never thought I would have missed the ground so much in my life." The green blades of splendor felt like pure life against his skin.

Gladio cut his eyes down at him, "Uhh, do you and the grass need to be alone?" He asked teasingly.

Prompto turned his head to the side and gazed up at Gladio out of the corner of his eye, "Shuddup and let me have my moment." He replied lightly and sleepily. He let his eyes close for a few seconds, taking the time to truly relish in it.

Noctis smiled to himself and shook his head. "Shouldn't you at least maybe, I don't know, get a little further away from the water? Your feet are still technically in it." He strode over and nudged him with his foot when he didn't respond, gaining again, no response. "Hey, you in there?" He waited a few seconds for any sort of response, getting absolutely nothing. "Prompt-"

"Huh?" Prompto quickly opened his eyes and pushed himself up onto his arms. "What is it?" He asked, a little startled while staring straight at Noctis.

Noctis was a bit caught off and hesitated, "You fell asleep." He said, voice hinting at bemusement.

The blonde mirrored his confusion, "No I didn't." He pushed himself back up to his knees.

"Then why didn't you answer me?" Noctis countered.

Prompto gave him a deadpan look, "Answer you? You never asked me anything. No one said a word until you called my name." His hand unconsciously went to the back of his head, rubbing it as a dull and minor throb began to form.

"Prompto, are you alright?" He asked quietly, noticing the lack of clarity in his eyes. He always seemed a little 'off' or 'bizarre', but this was just different. Zoning out that much twice within a few hours was far from the norm for him.

"Um, yeah." He answered slowly, unsure of himself. "I'm fine. I guess I'm just tired or something." He brushed it off as nothing, despite the fact that it had been bothering him as well. They were already getting fed up with his paranoia, so it was best not to push it anymore. He cast his worries aside and put on a forced mask of his usual self. "Well, shouldn't we be going?" He changed the subject, standing up and brushing himself off.

"Yeah." Gladio responded, looking from Prompto to Ignis. "So, where do we go from here?"

Ignis placed his hands on his hips, keeping his eyes forward, "Well, we keep straight ahead of course." He said, as if it were obvious. "He did say it was passed the swamp, and since he didn't give any special direction, I'd say it is safe to infer that we just keep going."

"A-are you sure?" Noctis asked, completely skeptical.

"I believe it to be the best course of action." Ignis explained. "You see, even if ends up being the incorrect direction, it is the best way to go and be closer to our destination than if we were to go in completely the wrong direction."

Prompto stared at him with a lost look on his face, "Uh...what?" He looked to the other two to see if they understood any of that, which from the looks of it, they didn't. "Gonna have to dumb it down a bit for us peasants." He joked, making a lowering gesture with his hand.

He replied by giving an exasperated sigh, "It is better to have a set starting point towards the center as it gives the best visibility to the surrounding area." He wasn't sure if that was any easier for the others to understand, but if would have to do.

"So...we're just gonna go in a line. A straight line until we hit something? Or... _not_ hit something?" Prompto was speaking to himself, trying to work it out in his head, "I think I get it." He held his finger up as he was still thinking about it. "Great plan." It was easy to see through his forced optimism. He began walking forward before the others had a chance to say or do anything else. He stopped to look back at the others, "Well come on, let's go already." Spinning back around, he continued with a slight spring in his step. It didn't slip by Noctis how he was slightly favoring one leg. He would ask him about that later.

The others shrugged it off and reluctantly went on. Before long the terrain made a transition from soft and lush grass, adorned with foliage and fungus into a more harsh and rocky landscape. The sound of their feet shuffling along the grainy surface of the Earth was accentuated by the subtle breeze blowing past their faces as it ruffled their hair. It didn't take long for Prompto to quickly fall back into the end of the group, taking up the rear. Or for Ignis to make his way back to the front, acting as the guide as was appropriate.

The day was growing old once more, and Ignis was a bit perturbed at the lack of signs of any nearby havens. It normally wasn't a huge deal, but them being so far out in the middle of nowhere, it was cause for a bit of concern. And with nothing suitable in sight, they would have to resort to being out in the open. Which, as long as someone was keeping watch at all times, it would work out fine. He delivered this suggestion to the others, coming to a mutual consensus, that it was their only option.

They traveled for a couple more hours before deciding it was time to settle for the night, and it wasn't long before everything was set up and Ignis was preparing their dinner. Noctis took this opportunity to question Prompto about his subtle, but evident limp while the other two were distracted. Prompto was openly shaken by the inquiry. "Wha-what? What are you talking about?" He swiftly asked, trying to play it off. "I don't have one."

Noctis wasn't accepting that, "Yes...you do. So tell me why." He soaked in the stubborn look that flashed across his face. "If you don't tell me, I'll have to say something to the others, and you know how 'persuasive' they can be."

Prompto blushed slightly at the thought of what he meant by that. "It-it's just a bruise. That's it." He answered somewhat truthfully. Noctis gave him that disbelieving look of his. "If you think I'm lying then take a look for yourself." He bent down and lifted his pants leg, wincing himself at both the pain that caused, but mostly the look of it. The marks were definitely darker than they were. Deep purples, encased in greens and yellows painted his flesh. "It's, um, it's not as bad as it looks." He tried to reassure.

"Prompto, when the hell did this happen? And how?" He checked out the bruise more closely, noticing how it snaked around his leg in one smooth stroke.

"I think it was when I was sleep walking. I must have hit it on the rocks or something." He guessed, "It's the only time it could have happened."

"And I suppose the rock rolled around your leg too." He said, following the mark with his eyes.

The other didn't respond, as he knew the explanation didn't make any sense logically, but he couldn't think of what else it could have been. Well, there was that one thing, but they already made it clear that wasn't to be taken seriously. "Well, no, of course not." He wrapped one arm around himself, "I mean, I-I don't know."

Noctis was about to question him further, but the sound of Ignis calling out to him caught his attention. "Noct, Prompto, come get your bowls before it gets cold." He told them, referring to the stew he had made, which he figured would be a bit more sustaining than broth or toast.

Noctis glanced back, then back at Prompto. Not wanting the others to be suspicious, since it was clear the blonde didn't want them to know, he spoke quietly before joining the others, "You can tell me when you're ready."

Prompto waited a moment before following after with his head hung a little, arm tightening a around the other a little more for a false sense of security. He sat down in the empty seat after accepting his own bowl. Staring at his own reflection in the broth of it, he scrunched his nose at the scent of it. Even this seemed unappetizing to him for some reason. So as not to make the others question anything else, he placed his disgust aside and took a few spoonfuls of the soup. But that was all he could manage without wanting to throw up from the taste. It didn't taste horrible, but it was more off-putting in a way.

Like before, he stealthily poured some of the broth part out when he was sure no one was paying attention. He wouldn't have been able to dispose of it all like before, but maybe it would be just enough not to raise suspicions. He actually offered to clean up this time, trying to hide the remainder of his own meal from the others, which surprisingly he had pulled off. Of course, it was strange that he even offered to clean it all up.

With that done they had a mutual and exhausted agreement that they all just wanted to go to bed now, Gladio offering to take the first watch, seeing it as his own personal duty. They hadn't thought it necessary to set up tents for that night, wanting to be able to leave faster in the morning without having to gather extra things when they woke up. He had seated himself between Noctis and Prompto, with Ignis resting on the other side of the fire.

The night advanced with no indication of danger, it was almost peaceful in a way and Gladio soon slipped into a near trance, finding it quite relaxing. As he sat there he felt something brush past his leg. Cutting his eyes over he realized it was just Prompto who had turned over, his hand now resting against the side of his lower leg. He looked away for a bit, leaving it where it was. Within a couple minutes there was another feeling, a more odd one. It felt like a slight tremble at first.

He immediately realized Prompto's fingers shaking very subtly. He watched the fluttering movements of them until it gradually crept up to his hand, trembling a bit more harshly now. Prompto's breathing seemed to speed up a small amount as well. Not sure what to do, he placed his own hand over it to try and steady it, noticing how rigid Prompto's hand felt under his. He stayed like that for about twenty seconds as it eventually began to subside, calming back down to lie laxly back against him, his breath slowed down along with it. That was unusual.

Gladio let his gaze trail up to Prompto's face, almost making him jump at seeing them wide open. He let his heart rate slow down before commenting, "Scared me nearly to death." He laughed nervously. Prompto just stared at him, saying nothing. "Hello?" He asked, patting the younger on the cheek. His stare reflected flawless vacancy, as they sat unmoving and fixated on something that wasn't there. He patted a bit harder, trying to get his attention.

Prompto jerked once before snapping his focus up at Gladio, "What?" He asked groggily, sounding as though he had just woken up. He blinked a few times and rubbed at his dry eyes. "Is something wrong?" He scanned around and settled back on the larger man. His eyes were half lidded with near slumber.

He was bewildered at his lack of awareness of what he was just doing. "You were staring at nothing, Prompto. It was freaking me out a little."

He blinked a couple times, trying to read Gladio's face, "I'm going back to sleep." He slurred out, feeling even more tired and sluggish, then turned back over. He fell asleep almost instantaneously.

Gladio was left with a mixed feeling of confusion and concern at this. The other was already sleeping peacefully, breathing falling into a regular and consistent rhythm. He kept a keen and careful watch on him for a little while after that until it was time to switch out with Ignis. Gladio mentioned part of the occurrence to him, but only the staring part, the part that was the most unsettling. Throughout the rest of the night, things went by as usual, and Ignis noticed nothing out of the ordinary; he was beginning to wonder if anything had happened at all, or if Gladio had only thought he saw that.


	4. Shatter

Ignis shielded his eyes as sun rays shone over the horizon and spilled onto the earth around them. He got to his feet and began to stretch out his stiff muscles, taking a moment to appreciate the scene before moving to wake the others. "Alright everyone, time to get up." He announced loudly, making sure he was able to break through their fortress of sleep; although he still had to nudge Noctis and Prompto with his toe, just to make it clear that they had to get up. As expected, they both grumbled through, unwilling to make a move to get up.

"Come on, you two, I would like us to make good time today." He stepped away with that to help Gladio out with getting ready, giving the others time to compose themselves.

Noctis reluctantly got himself into a sitting position, rubbing his eyes in an attempt to chase away the remainder of his slumber. It was way too early to be getting up yet. Surely they could afford to sleep for an hour or so longer. "Come on, Prom." He said hoarsely, voice still not with him yet. He responded my grumbling incoherently and curling up further. "Can't sleep all day." He stood up and, like Ignis, stretched himself out.

Prompto wished he could just ignore it all and go back to sleep, but he knew that wasn't an option for him. He cracked his eyes open, light assaulting them and sending small painful pulses through his skull. He groaned and tightly closed them back, hiding his head in his arms. He felt another nudge against his back and he reflexively tried to bend away from it. "Stop." He whined and rolled away a little.

"Up." It was Gladio this time.

He groaned for the second time within a minute and gradually got to his feet. As soon as his body was vertical he got a subtle lightheaded sensation. Afraid that he might fall over he grabbed onto Gladio's shoulder without thinking, steadying himself.

He had a hand on the blonde's shoulder at the same time, noticing how he lightly swayed on his feet. "Whoa, you alright?"

Prompto could hear him speak, but couldn't make out the words, the ringing was far too loud. After what felt like a life time, the cloudiness in his head began to clear and he could make out Gladio saying his name. He slowly looked up to face him, "Huh?" He asked, still a little out of it. He then realized that the other had been supporting most of his weight now. "Oh." He sobered up a bit more, and pulled away, standing on his own now.

"What was that about?" Gladio asked, hand still on Prompto, ready to catch him if he were to fall.

He looked down, then back up, "I don't know." He answered truthfully. "I must have stood up too fast." As quickly as it came, the dizzy spell had dispersed, "I'm fine now."

Ignis was nearby and bore witness to the whole thing. He reached them with just a couple of his long strides, "You say you're 'fine', but for some reason that is rather hard to find believable." Without warning he placed the back of his hand against Prompto's face.

He swiftly swatted it away, "I said I'm fine." There was a slight tremor in his voice "I told you, I just stood up too fast, and that's all."

"Then how do you explain last night?" Gladio folded his arms.

Ptompto looked at him with a bewildered expression, "Last night? What do you mean last night? I was asleep." Gladio saw the plain ignorance in his eyes; he really had no idea.

"You were just lying there looking at me for about a minute straight. You don't...remember that?"

His face switched from confusion to full of thought, "I, no, I don't." His focus flickered from Gladio, to Ignis, and back to Gladio. "Did-did I really do that?" His hand trailed back to his head as a particularly painful throb spiked through it. Images of his dream flashed by and that terrible feeling of being followed returned. He slowly shook his head, trying to clear it, "Um," He started as teeth filled his vision, "I...I" He felt sick when the memory of those cursed appendages dragging him down. "I'm fine." He lied, suppressing his recollection the best he could.

He removed his hand from his head and realized how weak it felt; it was trembling slightly. In fact, his entire body felt rather uncertain. "Why haven't you been eating?" Ignis' question piqued his attention and he lowered his hand to his side while he lifted his gaze.

"Wh-what do you mean?" He stuttered, feigning innocence.

Ignis' own concern got the better of him, and his tone came off as anger more so than actual worry, "Do you honestly think I wouldn't have noticed?" He asked without thinking, words being spoken louder than he had intended. The other two stood on the sides, watching on and not wanting to get involved in the middle of this.

Prompto felt his heart drop, but that shame quickly switched over to offence, "What's with the interrogation?" He snapped, taking a step back. "I wasn't hungry, or is that not ok?"

"Prompto, you need to calm down, I'm not trying to upset you." Ignis soothed in a softer tone.

His eyes stung from the building up frustration and feeling of hopelessness, and grit his teeth to bite back what he wanted to say. Letting his emotions get the better of him would do no one any good right now. "I know." He spoke mutely. He scanned the area around them, an uncomfortable feeling flowing through him. The same feeling he had back in the swamp, but he shouldn't have been so worried anymore, they were out of that mess now.

Ignis' eyes were drawn to Prompto's hands, which both had a subtle shake going through them. "You think if you were to maybe eat something, that it would help?" He suggested. "Weakness, nausea, and dizziness can occur from low blood sugar after all."

Prompto's face paled at the thought of it and he quickly shook his head, instantly regretting it when the movement made him feel a little woozy. "No," he spoke instead, "I don't think I can." He highly doubted that was the problem, but he couldn't explain that to the others. How would he explain it anyway?

Ignis' mouth formed a hard line, he wouldn't force him into doing or trying anything, but he couldn't just let things sit as they were. He took a deep breath, "Well, looks like we'll be lingering here for a while."

Prompto cut his eyes over, "What?" he asked, already getting an idea of what Ignis was trying to do. "No, we need to go and get there as soon as we can."

He folded his arms stubbornly, "We aren't going forward until you eat something. The sooner you do that, the sooner we can depart, which means it's all up to you on how shortly we arrive there."

"You're kidding, right?" He asked anxiously, glancing between Gladio and Noctis. "Come on, someone, back me up here. This is ridiculous."

Gladio responded by crossing his own arms, "Iggy knows what's best, I think it's in our best interest to take his word for things." And Noctis replied by taking a seat, clearly making himself comfortable.

"Looks as though it is three to one." Ignis said with a small satisfied smirk, "With that I think it's time to start preparing breakfast, seeing as we haven't had that yet."

* * *

Prompto stared down, full of loathing, at the plate in his hands. Ignis had made something quick and simple; rice balls. It was easy to make, and it was something that should go down easy as well. The others ate silently all while he was having his own internal struggle with this ordeal. They looked fine, and the smell wasn't so bad, but he was worried about how it would taste. Everything else he's tried all had a weird and off flavor to them, so this one was bound to as well.

He felt the eyes of the others flicker over to him ever now and then. Feeling pressured under their scrutiny, he finally tested the waters with a small nibble off the side. It was bland, that's for sure. For once the taste wasn't so bad, it was mostly the lack of taste though that seemed strange. Sure rice usually didn't have much taste anyway, but this was unusually dull. Regardless, he accomplished to consume most of it, which would be good enough.

Ignis appeared to be content with it anyway, and he hated to admit it, but he did feel a tad less out of it than before. After a couple of minutes most of the weakness fled his body. He still didn't feel his usual self; the uneasiness and anxiety was still cloaking his core, but it would do for now.

Pleased with knowing everyone at least had something, Ignis was alright with traveling. It was his responsibility to keep everyone in the best condition he could, and he was going to fulfill that to the best of his abilities. Although; now that he thought about it, the staring the Gladio had mentioned still didn't make sense. Nor did the sleep walking for that matter. Something else had to be wrong, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He was hoping it was just stress that had been building up, although that clearly wasn't the case anymore.

He let his thoughts simmer in the back of his mind for now, right now they had to worry about getting to that royal weapon. And though it did cause for some concern, he couldn't let it distract him from the task at hand.

Without having to pack as much up this time around, they were able to leave their campsite relatively quickly compared to the day before, and it seemed as though they would be making much better time now that they didn't have sludgy waters slowing them down. Only thing worse than that is the heat they now had to deal with, but at least t wasn't humid, or teeming with bloodthirsty insects. Which they were all thankful for.

A few hours had passed, and it was now about midday; the sun hanging high as the temperature was almost at its peak. They may have been making good time, but it definitely didn't feel that way as the heat bore down and their feet were burning from protesting muscles.

Prompto had begun to lag behind again, something really didn't feel right anymore. His was almost certain something was following them now, he could just feel it, like he could feel the tightening of his chest. Something was immensely wrong, and he didn't care anymore, he needed it to stop. "Iggy?" He sounded a lot more silent than he expected, and he wondered if any of them could even hear it. Despite that, he was aware the Gladio had turned around, he said something to the others, but Prompto didn't catch it. His words sounded jumbled in his ears. "Some-something's not right." He think he said it.

The scenery in front of him tilted dangerously, only being stopped by hands on his arms. Nausea cane back full force and he didn't think he would be able to hold it back this time. He gagged slightly, but luckily nothing seemed to be coming up. Prompto hadn't even realized he was lowered to the ground until he was able to focus a bit and Ignis' face was only a few inches away. "Prompto?" He asked, cupping his face in his hand. He felt something being pushed into his hand; it felt cold and smooth. He lowered his eyes, seeing a faint glow. "Use it." Ignis ordered. He had no idea what was wrong with the blond, but it was obviously getting bad now. Without giving it a second thought he had forced an antidote into his grasp.

Prompto only looked at it for a moment, his fingers didn't want to cooperate for some reason, and now that he thought about it, nothing did. He couldn't move. He couldn't talk. His eyes shifted between the others. Ignis turned his head, speaking to Noctis. Again, the words never made sense to him, but what he could make out was the blood-chilling shatter that echoed in his mind.


	5. Discoveries

**Sorry for the re-upload, but I had to make some necessary revisions.**

 **I had the completely wrong way to deal with this sort of condition, so I did more research, and changed it up just a tad to be the correct way. Sorry for the inconvenience. -**

A light crash followed by a subtle splash was enough to make Ignis' world stop for a fraction of a second. He reluctantly turned back to face Prompto, seeing that his hand was empty. Averting his gaze downward revealed to him the shards of glass scattered, surrounded by the liquid that was quickly being absorbed by the ground. He looked into his face, meeting only emptiness, showing his lack of lucidity. "Prompto?" He asked, taking a hold of his wrist which was still suspended partially. It felt...stiff, not to mention there was a very slight tremor running through it. He looked back into his eyes as they began to role back and he tilted to the side. 'Shit!' He cursed. He knew what was about to happen, and he didn't like it. "Noctis!" He called, a little panicked, "Get me something soft, a jacket, anything, I don't care what it is." He ordered as he worked on lying the blonde carefully onto his back.

"What's going on?" He asked, starting to become alarmed at the sight of Prompto suddenly becoming unresponsive combined with Ignis losing his composure.

"Just do it!" Ignis snapped. Now wasn't the time to explain, he needed him to act swiftly now and ask questions later. Prompto's hands were already starting to shake, and the tremors were quickly working their way up his arms. "Noct!" He shouted, beginning to grow impatient.

He heard shuffling behind him as Noctis was fumbling with his jacket, getting it tangled around his arms with his frenzy of movements; he only got more frustrated with each struggle with the material.

"Dammit,calm down" Ignis was slowly losing it, "We need something for him to lie on before he bashes his head open against the ground." He had his own hands separating his skull from the earth for the time being.

He switched his attention over to Gladio, "I need you to brush that glass over a little bit, I don't want him accidentally cutting himself on any of it. He did as he was asked, using his foot to scoot the shards over into a neat little pile far enough to be out of reach. "That will work." He turned when black popped up in his peripheral. He practically snatched the jacket from Noctis' hand and slipped it under the blonde hair.

Noctis was absolutely terrified, he didn't know what to do in this sort of situation, and to see his best friend thrash around like that was enough to make his chest constrict with fear and sympathy. "Wha-what the hell is happening?" He asked, not expecting an answer. His body moved on its own as he stepped over and dropped to his knees next to Prompto. His eyes were still open, but he obviously wasn't aware of anything. Cupping his face in his hands, Noctis spoke softly and slowly, "Come on, Prom, you're scaring us here."

This went on for about thirty seconds before he was finally starting to relax again, until eventually he was calm enough for Ignis to step in. Prompto's head rolled to the side once his muscles were no longer rigid. Ignis got to work checking him over, such as studying his pulse and inspecting his eyes. "He's out cold." Ignis confirmed, easing Prompto onto his side.

"Wha-what the hell happened?" Noctis questioned, still in shock after that episode. He felt unnaturally cold and detached.

Ignis took in a deep and steadying breath, still feeling slightly shaken, "He had a seizure." He answered, getting right to the point.

"Well, I can see that." Noctis spat, "But why? Where the hell did that come from?" He wasn't in the mood for obvious and vague answers. Not after that.

"I do not know." His eyes dropped to look down at Prompto, "But I have the feeling it didn't come out of nowhere." He added, deep in thought. His behavior over the past couple of days kept running through his mind. "I don't think this was his first one." He said sadly, guilt gripping at his heart now.

"What are you talking about?" Gladio asked, chuckling tensely, "I've never seen him do that before."

"You're right, he hasn't done that before." The others gave him a confused look. "They don't always look like that." Ignis started, "It can be as simple as losing consciousness, awareness, or sometimes only one or two things will shake." Gladio's eyes widened at his memory from the other night when Prompto's hand had been trembling. Is that what was happening then? He should have said something about that, but he had thought Prompto was merely dreaming. "All those times we thought he was only zoning out..." He trailed off, fist clenching at his side. He was angry. Angry at himself for not paying close enough attention.

"You mean to say, that all those were...seizures?" Noctis asked, not sure if he believed that. He didn't think they seemed all that bad.

"It is likely." Ignis responded, starting when the blonde lying next him shifted. He let out a pained groan and cracked his eyes open. Ignis looked into them, noticing the glaze that coated them. He still wasn't completely there; he'd have to wait for him to recover a bit more before asking anything. Prompto automatically buried his face, trying to hide from the sun as it burned his eyes. It seemed impossibly bright to him.

He gasped as a sharp pain shot through his skull, sound muffled against the black cloth. Trying to soothe him, the Ignis ran fingers through his hair, "Prom?" He asked as loudly as he dared, "How are you feeling?" He wasn't expecting an answer immediately, but without a clear view of his face, he couldn't tell if he was with them yet or not.

Prompto seemed to say something, but it was too quiet and slurred to understand any of it. And whatever it was, it was quickly transitioned into another groan anyway as he tried to curl in on himself.

Ignis didn't ask again, deciding it was best to wait a little longer. The younger moved again after a few minutes, coming to it seemed. He was trying to push himself up after he realized that he was lying on the ground, but that someone had prevented him from doing so. "Wha?" He asked, voice hoarse. And for some reason his entire body was sore and his head was killing him. He rotated it to gaze at the face above him and could barely make out who it was. "Iggy?" He asked groggily.

"Yes, Prom, I'm right here." He assured, "But I need you to answer something, alright?" Prompto nodded once. "Good, I need to to tell me how you're feeling right now."

His eyelids felt heavy, and he had to blink a few times to keep himself awake. "Just tired." He answered after some thought. "Head hurts." Which was added after the dull throb let itself known once again. His eyes snapped open wide, realizing that he had no idea why he was even lying down. "Wha-what happened?" His words were laced with unease.

Ignis placed a hand on his shoulder, "Prompto, just relax. Tell me, what do you remember?"

He hummed in thought as his eyes began to close again, but he quickly forced them back open, "Dunno." He replied, mind muddied and jumbled with mixed recollections. "I remember walking, and...and that's it." His head throbbed with the effort of fishing for memories that weren't there. The fact that he couldn't recall anything else terrified him to the core.

Ignis felt his breath increase with his growing terror, "Prompto, you need to remain calm. You're fine now, so just take a deep breath." He rubbed small circles on his back in an attempt to placate him, "Something happened, alright? But you also need to understand that it can be dealt with and it will be ok." He spoke gently, "Let me know when you're collected again."

Prompto nodded once again and took a few moments to do as he asked, and calmed down. "K." He replied, taking one last deep breath. He wanted to go to sleep, but the importance in Iggy's words pulled him away from it.

The older sighed out of compassion, "I'm going to be honest with you, something is clearly wrong, and I'm not entirely sure what. I'm going to be blunt with you. You just had a seizure, Prompto, and that wasn't the first one." He felt the blonde tense up at that knowledge, "But, it's not as bad as you think. It's not a good thing of course, but we can manage it."

"Right." Prompto said, letting his head rest back against the other man. A gleam caught his attention and he noticed the shards of glass scattered on the ground. "What's that?" He asked touching the ground a few feet away from it, which was rather close to him, and feeling the dampness of the earth.

Gladio followed his gaze, "It's the antidote we tried to give you, but..." He didn't finish that statement, but Prompto knew what he was about to say. He dropped it. He didn't even remember having been handed the vial.

"Oh." He felt so exhausted, drained of all energy. "My bad." He allowed his eyes to close this time, not having the stamina to fight it any longer. Relaxing further into the material, he was out in a matter of seconds.

"Is he alright?" Noctis asked after having been quiet for so long. "Did he pass out?" He asked the second question without giving Ignis a chance to answer the first. Multiple scenarios were presenting themselves to him simultaneously, and he couldn't bear for any of those to be true.

"Yes," He replied quickly, before he had time to throw another one at him, "He just fell asleep is all. This kind of stuff can wear you out, so it will do him some good."

"What will do him some good is another antidote." Noctis retorted. That had to have been obvious to all of them.

"It would be better to give him one," Ignis agreed, "if that had not been our last one." He cut his eyes over to the broken glass spitefully. He should have known better than to avert his attention knowing something was very wrong. At the very least he should have helped him to hold it.

"That was our last one?!"

The prince's outburst was unexpected and uncalled for. It was understandable, but he was always too quick to let his emotions get the better of him. "Noct!" Ignis warned, "You need to control yourself." Despite the boisterous eruption, Prompto didn't even so much as twitch.

Noctis immediately caught on, "Sorry." He apologized quietly.

"We should keep moving, I'm not sure how long he'll be out." Ignis looked from Prompto to Gladio. "Mind taking it from here?" He asked. Gladio knew what he was referring to and got to his feet, making his way over. Effortlessly lifting their gunslinger into his arms, he nodded to Ignis. The latter plucked the jacket off the dirt and tossed it over back to the prince.

"Ready when you are." Gladio re-adjusted the man his arms, positioning him in a more comfortable posture to where his head was resting peaceful against his shoulder. It was like carrying a rag doll with how limp his was. He seemed almost child-like in his arms. He forgot how young he actually was sometimes, but really he was just a kid compared to him and Ignis. Sometimes he forgot he needed others to look out for him.

"Let's go." Ignis spoke up, "Gladio, let me know when he wakes up, or if anything changes. Anything. I don't care what it is, if he so much as breathes heavier, I want to know." It wasn't like Ignis to be this attentive about something. He was an observant man by all means, but being this specific was weird for him.

Gladio nodded anyway, "Yeah, don't worry, I will."


	6. Tombs and Gloves

**Thank you so much to everyone who has been reading this and reviewing it. ^-^ It means a lot to me and motivates me to actually update as quickly as I can.**

* * *

He couldn't breathe. He couldn't breathe and he couldn't move. Where was he, and what the hell was going on? He felt like he was floating, but where, he did not know; every direction was black and endless. It was as if he were drifting in a void of nothingness. But somehow, it was peaceful. Feeling nothing, and seeing nothing was a bit of a relief. Slowly something changed. It was a subtle change, and it wasn't until he felt as though he was falling that he noticed it. And just like that, his euphoria made a full one-eighty into panic.

He waved is arms in an attempt to get his bearings, but they felt heavy, or rather there was some resistance. Opening his mouth to speak, he realized his mistake. Water rushed in, and he felt the need to get out of this, this wasn't right. He needed to get out. The world was closing in around him, and he needed out. As he desperately tried to crawl his way to the surface, reaching out for the rays of sun that broke through. No matter how much effort he put into it, the light only dimmed further as the distance between them increased.

A noise from the depths below him caught his attention and he ceased his pursuit at freedom. A chill ran through his blood, freezing it at the sound. Heart beating painfully against his ribs, he cast his eyes downward, seeing only a tangled mass of shadow rising from the expansive darkness. He was paralyzed with fear, finding it impossible to get away. Arms stretched out for him, twirling around his legs. Next were his arms and waist; they gripped tightly, digging into his skin. With one fluid and harsh tug, it pulled him closer to it as it opened its mouth and revealed those all too familiar teeth. Teeth that strung together with grotesque saliva, and he could smell the scent of death flowing off it in waves.

A thousand thoughts played through his mind. A thousand questions, a thousand memories, and a thousand goals he would never get to fulfill. During his stupor he was unaware of the mucous coated tendrils that encased him, squeezing tighter until he thought the embrace alone would crush him. The moment it became unbearable, light filled his vision and he could finally breathe again as he took in greedy gasp of air.

* * *

The three of them had moved quickly with new reason and motivation to get through this faster, walking with a speed that rivaled jogging. With all of the excess movement and exertion they had all stripped themselves of their jackets by this point, Gladio even removed Prompto's vest seeing that he even had a sheen to him from the heat, and draped it over his shoulder. He hadn't moved in hours, and he wasn't sure if should be worried about that, or thankful for it.

Noctis came to a stop when the man in front of him did so without warning. "Ignis, a warning next time." He griped when he stumbled trying to avoid running into him. He followed his gaze when he realized e was staring at something in the distance, and said no more once he understood the reason for the sudden pause. There was a structure, a structure that was now the most alluring thing to him in that moment. A tomb. "You have to be kidding me." He breathed under his breath, "It really is out here."

"Didn't doubt it for a moment." Ignis smiled to himself, glancing over to Noctis. "Like I said, you just have to have a little bit of patience."

The prince gave him an annoyed smirk, "Yeah, right."

Gladio gazed down when he thought he heard a low mumble, but the man in his arms still seemed to be out for the count. Thinking he imagined it, he ignored it and stepped forward. He made his way to be next to the others, and instead of hearing anything, he felt a feeble twitch that barely felt like anything. He looked again seeing Prompto's face slightly taking on a mask of discomfort. "Prom?" He asked silently, but it fell on deaf ears and the blonde only shifted more. "Hey, Iggy?" He flickered his eyes towards the other, "I think something's going on over here."

There was no hesitation ind Ignis' response, leaning over the younger in an instant. Seeing the expression and emotion layering his face, it was pretty clear to him what was going on. "It's alright." He announced, "I think he's just having a dream." He brushed his hair back and could feel the sweat coating it, "Probably not a very pleasant one though." He jumped subtly when a particularly violent movement ran through him and Gladio had to tighten his hold to keep from dropping him.

"Prompto, you need to wake up." Ignis said loudly and authoritatively, shaking his shoulder with some force. Beads of sweat were now rolling down his face, and he was trying desperately to breathe, taking in shallow and short breaths. Gladio tried to help by rattling him not so gently in his arms, which was difficult to accomplish when the other was attempting to flail his own. Abruptly his eyes snapped open with a gasp, each intake of air mimicking the first.

"Easy there." Gladio said calmly, letting up his hold a little. "You're away now, everything is fine." He relaxed by a margin, but his breathing was still far too erratic and bordering on hyperventilating. His eyes carried an element of wild instinct in them.

Ignis placed one hand on the side of his face, "Prom, you need to slow your breathing before you pass out." Prompto nodded at him in understanding, but his heart was still drumming in his chest. "Deep and slow breaths, alright?" He nodded again, not trusting himself to speak. He breathed in slowly, the trembling in his body making it difficult as he instinctively wanted to push it back out immediately. He resisted the urge and held it for a few seconds before letting it escape. "That's good, now just do that a few more times." he instructed.

Prompto found each breath get easier than the last until they were coming out normally at last and he no longer felt full of alarm. He let his eyes drift closed for a moment as he basked in this new restfulness. He was alright. Everything was fine, it was just a dream. "I'm fine." He said out loud, letting both the others and himself know it. He took one more deep breath and opened his eyes to look at who was carrying him, "I think I would like to walk now." He whispered out, voice a little unsteady.

"Prom, I'm not sure that's a good idea right now." Noctis threw in his two cents. "I think it would make us all a little more comfortable if you just let Gladdy carry you for now." He tried to persuade the other to just take it easy, afraid that doing too much would thrust him into another episode.

Prompto saw the pleading in his eyes, and went against what he wanted for their sake if nothing else. "Alright." He relaxed back against the larger man as he felt something warm roll down onto his upper lip. With delay, he wiped the area with the back of his hand and pulled it away to confirm his suspicion, and faced a smear of red across it. Another drop soon replaced that one.

Before he could swipe this one away he felt something being pressed against it. It wasn't exactly soft, and it had a somewhat of a silky feel to it. He glanced up at a now single gloved Ignis. He tried to push it way, "You'll get it dirty."

Ignis held his wrist in a strong grasp, "It's not that bog of a deal, I can just get a new one." He brushed it off. "Hold it there." Prompto took hold of the material, allowing Ignis to remove his hold on it. He must have seen the concerned look on his face because he added gently, "Don't worry about it, nose bleeds can occur with high blood pressure, and given what all has happened recently, it would be understandable." That explanation helped to placate him a little, but he still didn't appreciate it.

"Thanks." He said nasally as blood slowly seeped into the glove.

Ignis then slid a hand behind his head and lifted it up, "Try to lean forward." He said as he continued to hoist him up. "It will keep the blood from running down the back of your throat. Good, now stay like that for a bit." Once everything seemed in order and nothing else showed itself, he strode away to be closest to Noctis again. "We can keep going now." He was just as eager to hurry as the others.

Prompto settled against Gladio's shoulder, grateful for the support when his muscles ached with the small amount of use they got with that action. Why did everything hurt so bad? His head was the worst of all of it, that previous pulsing he once had to endure has now escalated to a consistent drill. And it didn't feel like it was going to let up any time soon. At the sensation of being moved, he looked in the direction they were going, seeing the same structure over the horizon. "Is that...?" He didn't need to finsih for the others to know.

"Yup, the royal tomb that we came for." Noctis answered him, "I have to admit, thought this search would end up being a waste of time."

"Like that wasn't obvious" Prompto retorted with humor, that came off a little awkward sounding. He cleared his throat as a drop slid down, spitting it out the moment he worked it up to the back of his tongue. He spit it out towards the ground, but he must not have processed how walking worked as it only ended up landing on Gladio's shoe. "Sorry, got blood on your boot." He apologized, lacking the sincerity.

Gladio made a small grimace, "Well, it'll come off at least." He shrugged it off, something that insignificant really wasn't a big deal. "I'll just let you clean them when you feel better to make up for it."

Prompto's face fell at that suggestion. "Uhhh, are you aware of how bad they probably smell though? Especially belonging to who they do."

"Keep talking and I'll shove it somewhere you won't have to worry about smelling it."

Prompto's eyes glared at him out of the corner, "On second though, cleaning them might not be so bad." He pulled the glove away from his nose and cringed at the red that soaked it now, but was relieved when he felt nothing else dripping down. He held the glove to his chest, fingers still wrapped around it as he let his head rest back against Gladio. The latter gazed down, noticing the crimson that stained his face, but didn't comment on it.

"We should be there in about an hour if we pick up the pace a little." Ignis stated, in a rather implying tone. His eyes settled on Gladio and Prompto, "Are you up for that?" He asked directed at the younger of the two.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah." He answered, not half paying attention. "Do what you have to do, I'm just along for the ride at this point aren't I?" There was a touch of bitterness mixed in with his words He caught the looks the others were giving him, "No, really, I'm fine with it, I want to get this over with as much as you guys. Trust me."

"If you say so." Gladio replied flatly. They walked a little faster now, not quite as quickly as before, but still enough to notice a difference as Gladio's steps didn't feel as smooth as they had before. In fact, they only worked to make his head throb more and he couldn't stop the groan the slipped out. "You alright?" He asked quietly the moment he heard it, "We can slow down" "No." Prompto answered tersely, "It's fine, really. It's just a headache, nothing I can't handle." His hand instinctively intertwined with his hair, running through it repetitively in a way to distract himself. He closed his eyes tightly as he buried his face further into Gladio's shoulder. The pain was actually making him feel nauseous now and he had to switch his concentration on not throwing up all over Gladio. He would never be able to face any of them again if that happened.

He's unsure of how much time passed, as it felt like hours to him. But, he risked opening his eyes and taking a look around when the motions began to slow and smooth out and eventually stopped altogether. That was a mistake. With all the jolts the walking had caused, and his eyes being closed, he was completely disoriented as the sun blinded him. This was the final push it took. Without a word he tried to shove himself away to get down.

"What are you doing?!" Gladio asked startled by his sudden outburst. He looked down to a pale and gagging blonde and it didn't take long to figure it out. As quickly and tenderly as he could, he lowered him down, Holding him in an upward postion as he did so and allowing him to lean forward. He cringed slightly at the sound of the blonde retching in front of him. Violent convulsions racked his body as Gladio did what he could to keep him steady. "I've got you." He tried to appease, but it really didn't sound right coming from him.

Prompto leaned further into Gladio's supportive arms, energy draining him quickly, "Thank you." He panted out. "Don't know...where that came from." Gladio risked a glance at the mess on the ground, not missing the slight tinge of red, most likely blood that mixed in from his nosebleed. Though, that didn't change how unsettling it appeared.

"You good?" He asked after a few seconds went by. The blonde was having difficult holding himself up at all now, the action of throwing up sapping at most of the strength he had. The younger hummed in affirmation, and he leaned into Gladio as he helped him crawl a few feet away. Sitting down, he eased Prompto to lie down, using his legs as a makeshift pillow.

Prompto peered through half closed eyelids, not seeing the other two anywhere, "Where?" He asked glancing around, swallowing hard against the dryness in his mouth. "Where are the others?"

"They went inside." Gladio answered, looking over his shoulder. Then Prompto noticed the shadow that was blanketing them. "Thought is was better to wait for them out here." He brushed past a lock of hair to get a better look at his face, feeling how clammy his skin felt, "Are you feeling alright?" He asked, thinking it was a dumb question the moment it was out.

"Yeah." He spoke quietly. "I do now anyway." He answered honestly, the nausea being completely purged from his being. He still felt awful, but that was beside the point.

"Alright we're good to g-" Noctis stopped mid-sentence when coming upon the scene in front of him. "What's going on?"

Prompto raised a hand, giving a thumbs up, "Just got tired, don't worry about it." He strained to make his voice sound normal as he spoke before Gladio could.

Gladio grunted at that, "He's not 'just tired'." he corrected, "He threw up a little." He then spoke to Prompto, "You think you're ready to head back now, or do you need a moment?"

"I think I'm good." As Gladio was lifting back up he started feeling around his body for something, "Where is it?" He asked himself. Searching for Ignis' glove that he just had. "Where is the glove? Did I lose it?"

"It probably just fell on the ground." Noctis scanned the ground, finding it not far from them. But he doubted any of them would want it back now as it lied there half covered in vomit. "Actually, I think Ignis got it back. Right?" He looked pointedly at the other man, putting emphasis on the last word.

"Yes, I did." He offered, following Notis' lead. "I took it back seeing as you were done with it."

"Oh, ok." Prompto seemed to believe that answer an let Gladio pick him back up without anymore fuss about it. He automatically resumed his previous position, resting easily against him and letting Gladio take it from there.


	7. How Much Further

**A bit of a shorter chapter, but I really wanted to end this one where it ended, so the next will be longer. C:**

"Do you mind if we take it a bit slower this time?" Prompto asked almost inaudibly. He already had his face buried deep in Gladio's shoulder, head pounding with each footfall.

Ignis still felt the urge to return back to civilization as soon as possible, but the thought of making the younger more uncomfortable than necessary pulled at his heart a little bit more. "I don't see any issues as to why we can't lessen our pace just a tad." He offered, stealing a glance At the other two.

"Are you sure it's ok to take our time?" Noctis asked, a hint of skepticism in his voice. He mimicked Ignis' glance, "We don't know what the hell is going on, and I know as well as you do that the sooner we get out of this, the better it will be for him."

He pushed his glasses up and turned back to face the prince, "I am quite aware of that, but here is the part you don't understand. We don't need him to be freaking out. If he realizes the panic and desperation we all hold, how do you think he would react to that? This is for his own good." He averted his gaze forward, effectively ending the topic. Noctis stopped mid step for a moment, falling behind a little bit. He knew he was right, but it still didn't do anything to appease his thoughts.

Gladio felt the grip on his shoulder tighten, fingers digging in almost painfully. But, he didn't complain, if it helped Prompto deal with his uneasiness, then he could, in turn, deal with this. He firmed up his own hold, in both comfort and protection.

"I do want to at least make it back to our camping destination from last night." Ignis announced, looking up to the sun, which was quickly descending. "We got lucky with there being no dangers nearby, so let's see if we can attempt to push that luck once more."

"Whatever you think is best." Noctis said under his breath in annoyance. Ignis ignored his little comment, not even gratifying him with a glare. They remained in strained silence for the majority of the way back, barely making reasonable swings at somewhat of a decent conversation. None of them really feeling in the mood to honestly care. Gladio stayed in the background, deciding it would be better if he were to just keep to himself in this situation, afraid that the slightest remark would cause things to escalate.

Instead he kept his focus on keeping his walk as smooth as could be, rolling his feet with each step as he kept his arms steady and strong. Within a few minutes the once fast and erratic breath against his neck slowed down into a consistent and easy one. Looking down, the blonde wore a peaceful and soft expression, showing no indication as to the pain he felt. He must have thankfully fallen asleep. Wanting to take advantage of the moment he determined that now was the time to say something, "Hey Iggy?" He spoke quietly, but loud enough for the other to hear him.

"What is it?" He asked, stopping and spinning around, expecting for something else to be wrong, but relaxing when he faced a calm and cool Gladio.

He gestured down with his head, "We can move it now without having to worry. He's asleep, so it should be fine now." He still kept his voice low, not risking disturbing Prompto now that he was finally comfortable.

Ignis let the thought simmer for a moment, considering the options. "Do you think you can while simultaneously keeping your strides smooth?"

Gladio gave a curt nod, "Yeah, that won't be a problem" He answered confidently as he cupped Prompto's head in his hand.

Ignis thought about it for a few seconds, "As long as you are sure about that, then we should do it, but if not, then it's not worth it." He averted his gaze to observe the blonde for a moment, seeing that he seemed to be pretty far gone. "Just be extra careful." He finished, turning back around. He quickened their pace slightly, still not feeling comfortable enough to go much faster, knowing that even the slightest of jostles could cause some upset.

* * *

Ignis came to halt once they came upon their previous camping location, the ground showed very minimal signs of them being there as the wind had disturbed most of the sand. He took his jacket which was slung over his arm and folded it, placing it gently on the ground. Looking to Gladio, he gestured to the spot, and the large man carefully lowered his charge, easing his head onto the makeshift pillow, trying his best not to wake him. Luckily it worked out without a hitch, not so much as a change in breathing. He was really out for the count.

Ignis wasted no time in setting up the necessities, which was basically just a fire so he could at least cook and the others could have some warmth. Again, they were keeping their setup small and simple so as to get an early start once again. Ignis procured a bottle of water and handed it over to Noctis, "When he wakes up, make sure he drinks some, I have a feeling he could really use some."

"Yeah, right." He accepted the water, stepping over and placing it next to Prompto so it would be nearby. Sitting next to it, he gazed at his friend, still feeling unsure as to whether taking their time was really the right choice. Then again, he was probably just letting his emotions get the better of him like he always did. Never really thinking things through and considering what was truly the best options. A soft groan dragged him out of his thoughts.

"Well, good morning to you too." He teased, facing a now sort of awake Prompto. The other responded by turning on his side, turning away from Noctis and groaning again, but this time it was out of annoyance. "Someone's in a bad mood." He nudged the blonde's shoulder playfully, eliciting another sound of protest. "You can be stubborn all you want, but just know I'm a few leagues ahead of you in that department." Noctis nudged again, this time a little harder.

"Wha' do you want?" Prompto basically whined out the words, giving a sad attempt at slapping the other's hand away.

"Just need you to drink some of this." He picked up the water and swung it in front of Prompto's face, holding it between his thumb and forefinger as he let it swing back and forth.

Switching his aggression to the water now, he gave another weak smack at the object, "Can't you just let me die in peace?" He exaggerated, wrapping one arm around his head.

Noctis sighed in irritation, got up to his feet and stepped over to the other side of the persistent lump. "Quit being a drama queen." He sat down with a 'thump', emphasizing his last word. He met blue eyes with his own, blue eyes that were overflowing with discomfort. "Just drink some and I'll leave you alone, alright? I promise." He shook the bottle as he stared with a pleading expression hidden under his cool facade.

Prompto eyed the container warily, flicking his attention from that to his friend, looking for any signs that should send warning signals in his head. Finding none that were obvious, he nodded in agreement, "Fine." He slid his arms underneath himself and went to push himself up. He only got about halfway before they started trembling with the exertion. "Dammit, come on." Balling his fists out of resentment for his own weakness, he tried to put a little more strength into it. His right arm buckled from his own weight, unable to handle it. Luckily, his reunion with the ground never occurred.

"Please don't hurt yourself." Noctis breathed out, supporting most of the other and helping him to sit up.

"I-I'm not sure what that was about." Prompto nervously laughed out, "Guess my arms just don't want to cooperate right now." His voice sounded so small and fragile from the embarrassment as he blushed slightly.

Noctis felt sympathy surge for him, seeing how difficult it was for the other to have such frailties exposed like they were. "Prom, it's not that big of a deal. It's bound to happen with all that's been going on lately." He chose his words carefully, avoiding specific details and instances. "You should be fine in no time." He unscrewed the cap and handed it over, having one hand hover near should he need further assistance.

"Thanks" Prompto mumbled, taking the offered water in both hands, not trusting himself to hold it with just one. He held it for a moment, taking in the slight warmth of the liquid through the plastic. Wasn't exactly ideal, given he would have preferred it to be a bit cooler, but he couldn't complain considering how parched he actually was. He tipped it, taking a small experimental sip. He let that go down and have time to decide if it was going to stay down or not before taking another cautious one.

"That's right, take it slow." the prince encouraged from the sideline. "How are you feeling?" Actually having to try and show care and concern for someone like this felt foreign and awkward to him.

Prompto took a few more sips and lowered the bottle, "I'm not sure." He answered evenly, eyes cast downward, "It just seems to come and go. One minute I feel perfectly fine, and the next..." He didn't finish his sentence, instead he settled on just looking away and allowing Noctis to fill in the blank for himself. "Anyway, how much further until we reach that tomb?"


	8. Reality

"What?" Noctis asked, unsure if he had heard that correctly or not, but desperately hoping he just misheard. "What did you say?"

Prompto stared at Noctis, sensing that something was off, "Umm, I was just wondering...how close we were to reaching the tomb?" He repeated, uncertainty lacing his words. He saw the change in the other's expression, and he could see the dismay embellishing his features. "Did-did I say something wrong?" He glanced around at the others to see if they heard anything, but they were both busy with their tasks.

Noctis effortlessly and smoothly rose to his feet, "I'll be back, stay here." He kept his gaze away from him as he stepped away, leaving Prompto behind to be confused as to what he did wrong.

He quickly strode over to Ignis, and placed a forceful and heavy hand upon his shoulder, demanding him to turn and face him. "He doesn't remember a damn thing!" He harshly whispered between clenched teeth, "This isn't like before, he's forgetting things he was awake for!" His hand tightened on Ignis' shoulder as his anger continued to rise.

"Noct, you need to settle dow-"

"How the hell do you expect me to settle down!" He let temper extinguish his reasoning as he let this slip out, rather loudly at that. "Something is wrong with him!" He regretted it the moment it left his mouth. He slowly turned his head, crossing Prompto's cheerless visage.

"What?" Followed his small voice, "What's going on? What did I do?" He took a deep and shaky breath, attention flashing between the two of them, "What do you mean 'something's wrong' with me?!" His confusion had hastily mounted to that of fearful panic.

"Prom." Gladio started, the sudden scene hauling him in, calling for him to intervene, "don't worry about it, just calm down." He made his way over, crouching down in front of him and threw a disappointed look back at Noctis.

"How do you expect me to calm down?" His voice was tight as he struggle to swallow his emotions. "What's wrong with me?" His words cracked at the end, his growing anxiety breaking through.

Ignis cut his eyes over to Noctis, "This is why you keep your patience in check." He said low enough for only him to hear. He brushed past him to join the other two.

"I didn't mean..." Noctis tried, but cut himself off, knowing there was no explaining it.

Gladio stepped aside to allow Ignis to take over, he was better fit for these types of situations after all. He knelt down in front of the distressed blonde, grabbing his shoulders gently yet firmly, "Listen to me. There is clearly something afflicting you right now, but it's nothing to fret over. In a few days at most we will be arriving back to civilization and we can get the potions needed to fix this. You're mainly being affected by a few memory issues, which will be fine, it's not going to last forever."

Prompto remained silent, soaking all this information in again. He remembered small details here and there, but he hadn't realized the extent of it. He recalled feeling like utter garbage not too long ago, and he remembered being carried, but other than that there wasn't much that was coming back to him. "So I...I'll be alright?" He asked shakily, hands clenching on his legs.

"Yes, I believe that you will be." Ignis replied compassionately. Of course, he wasn't sure if it was the truth or not, but if that's what it took to keep the other collected and under control, then so be it. "We are on our way back now, so just hang on until then."

"So...that means we already got what we came after?" He glanced between Ignis and Noctis, unsure which one was going to answer.

Noctis folded his arms sheepishly, averting his eyes to the ground, "Yeah. We got it." He said after some time, never lifting his gaze. "That was earlier today though. You've been out almost the entire time."

Prompto's blood went cold, he didn't know how he should feel about this. Everything was just blurred and patched together in a manner that didn't add up or make sense. He only nodded, not trusting his voice to come out properly at the moment; he wasn't sure if he could get it to come out at all even.

Ignis took his silence and overall stillness as a sign that he needed a moment. "I'll go finish cooking," He looked over his shoulder at Noctis, "Noct, why don't you come assist me. It would do you some good to actually learn a few tricks for once. I'm not always going to be able to cook for you after all." He said, the desire for him not to protest evident in his words. Switching over to Gladio he added, "I suppose you wouldn't be opposed to gathering whatever fuel you can for the fire?"

Seeing what he was getting at, the larger man grunted in understanding, turning to do as he was asked while the other two went to prepare what was left of their meal, leaving Prompto alone to himself.

When the two of them were alone Noctis faced Ignis, internally arguing with himself before finally speaking, "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"Just forget about it." He cut off, still a tad sour about having to deal with a situation that could have easily been avoided. "It's over with and dealt with." He continued to stir his ingredients, focusing more on that than the prince.

Noctis grit his teeth slightly, not wanting to leave it at that, "I-I know, but still." He took a deep breath, holding it for a second and blew it back out, "I shouldn't have..."

"You're right, you shouldn't have, but there is no going back and undoing what has already been done. The only thing to do is forget about, learn from it and move on." He flashed a look over his shoulder, seeing the blonde was still where they left him, albeit a little on the tense side of things. "He's strong, he'll be alright."

"Yeah." Noctis cast his attention down to his feet, "He is."

* * *

Pouring the stew into bowls, Ignis handed Noctis and Gladio their bowls while carrying his own and Prompto's. He was pretty sure they were all growing tired of nothing but soup and stew, but being so far away from everything he didn't want to risk anything that would require too many ingredients out of fear of running out. He sat next to the younger, offering the bowl over to him, which was flat-out refused as he raised his hand, indicating that he wanted nothing to do with it.

Ignis didn't back down, insisting that he take it, "You need to eat something, Prompto. Even if you don't feel like it, it will be worse if you don't."

Prompto looked at it prudently, then to Ignis, "I'm really not hungry." He turned his head away, choosing to gaze into the distance instead, trying to block the others out.

"Well, I can't force you to." Ignis placed the bowl down next to him, close enough that he should be able to see it out of hie peripherals, "But it's there if you decide to change your mind." He didn't push it further, seeing as he was already in a questionable mood. Pressing it further would do nothing but cause him to be even more withdrawn.

Prompto's mind kept drifting to that dream of his, 'which was just a dream.' he kept telling himself. His head throbbed dully with the memory and his hand instinctively drifted to his leg where he could still feel the things grip on him. His fingers traced along the bruised path, memories of that creature's features still fresh in his mind, playing over and over again. He couldn't get rid of them no matter how much he tried. It was the only thing that he could clearly remember recently, the only thing that wasn't fragmented. He thought he felt one of it's arms ghosting over his own, and out of reflex he lashed out at it, refusing to go through any of that again. It all happened so fast, and he found himself acting without thinking.

* * *

Ignis left the bowl where it was, hoping Prompto would feel up to it soon enough, but not expecting it get to that. He turned to his own, leaving the other to do him. The other three ate in relative silence, only breaking that quiet veil when they heard a small mumbling. Noctis was the first to say anything, eyes drifting over to the blonde who was still staring out at nothing.

"Prom?" He asked, "Everything alright?" He got no response as he just kept staring at nothing, and he saw him gently run a hand over his leg. "Hey." He tried again, reaching out and carefully touching his arm as cautiously as possible. He didn't have time to react as he heard a click and now found himself staring into a metal tunnel. His hands flew up in shock. "What the hell are you doing man?" He looked into his eyes, discovering nothing but wild instinct shining bright.

Gladio was the next to react. "Noctis, duck!" He yelled out as he clutched Prompto's wrists from behind, forcing the hand holding the gun to point it upward. The shot rang out just as Noctis let himself drop sideways. Gladio twisted the other's wrist, causing him to drop his weapon which Ignis acted quickly in retrieving. "Prompto, what do you think you're doing?" He asked a bit too harshly, dropping his wrists in order to wrap his arms tightly around him to restrain him. Though, he found it odd that he wasn't fighting it.

"Gladio, careful not to hurt him." Ignis placed a hand on his shoulder, hinting for him to ease his hold a little.

The larger looked at him in disbelief, "He just tried to kill Noctis, and you're worried about me hurting him?"

Ignis didn't reply and only crouched down in front of the blonde, "Prom, can you hear me?" The panic was clear in his eyes, he was genuinely terrified for his life as even his breathing was erratic and came out quick and shallow. His gaze flicked around before settling on Ignis, and took a few more seconds for recognition to grace them.

"Iggy?" He asked, wanting to be sure he was seeing right, "It...it's here. I told you, there's something..." He noticed a gleam come from Ignis' hand and immediately realized it was his gun. Why did he have it? He looked around a bit more, alarm being his main drive, and took in the scene around him. Noctis was a few feet away, leaning far to the side, then he was aware of the arms which were tightly binding him. "Wha-what's going on?" It was now that he was finally trying to break free.

He was still in fight or flight mode, heat thrumming against his ribs, but Gladio was easily able to keep him at bay. "Stop struggling will ya?" He had to pull his head to the side to avoid getting head-butted. "We aren't trying to hurt you, so just settle down and I'll let you go."

Prompto grew still as he considered the words. His head still throbbed and he could now feel a warm liquid dripping onto his upper lip. Licking it away he could taste that familiar copper flavor. It was blood. Again, a couple more drops slid down and continued to drip down onto Gladio's arm. If he noticed, he didn't say anything about it.

Eventually he was able to slow his breathing and calm his heart rate down enough to a reasonable speed. Gladio slowly eased his hold, doing so gradually, afraid the other would try to make a break for it, thankful that he didn't so much as move.

With his arms finally free, the first thing he did was wipe at his nose with the back of his hand, streaking red all the way across it. That blood was quickly replaced by more as it was flowing a bit more freely now. He pressed a finger up to it, hoping to stunt the stream a little. Gladio was now sitting back, giving the younger full freedom now that he was certain he wasn't going to do anything drastic.

"Prompto, I want you to tell me exactly what happened to cause you to deem it necessary to aim your weapon like that." Ignis instructed, void of harshness and accusation.

He thought back to what he saw, now aware of how outlandish it would sound, "I...I don't know." He shook his head as he answered. "I wasn't thinking."

Ignis didn't buy it for a second. "Obviously it was enough for you to go into full blown hysteria. You can tell me, I won't think any less of you. Now explain to me what happened." He never broke eye contact, holding the other's attention and preventing him from looking to the others.

Prompto stared into Ignis' eyes, searching for hints of betrayal. "It..um, it was that dream I had." He broke the eye contact to gaze downward instead, "I thought..." His voice broke before he could finish, so he tried again, "I thought is was real." He had to fight with himself to keep from crying, not wanting to do that in front of them. The mental exhaustion all this was cause felt like it was getting to be too much and it was becoming a strain to put on a fake face for them. "I really thought it was real." He repeated, lifting his eyes back up.


	9. Pieced Together

"Prompto, it's alright." Ignis said, taking his face between his hands, "I want you to tell me about that dream again, and do not leave any details out. This is very important." He never took his eyes off the blonde's, focusing on him to make sure he picked up every word spoken and every emotion that would show themselves. He caught the other's hesitation as he gazed around, looking from one person to the other, clearly not wanting to speak about it again. "Go on, I promise I'm listening." Ignis encouraged.

Prompto zoned in back on the older man, "Are you sure?" He asked skeptically, the thought of them shutting him down before still fresh.

"I'm sure." Ignis declared with one short nod, "Now go on."

Prompto swallowed hard, flicking through the others one last time before speaking, "Remember when I thought something was out there, in the swamp I mean?" He started, waiting for the other to let him know he recalled. Once Ignis affirmed, he continued. "I went to sleep when the rest of you did, I believe." He paused, thinking about the best way to word what he remembered happening, "And, I...I thought I heard something. I didn't want to wake you guys up, so I went by myself."

"Why didn't you want to wake anyone up?" Gladio asked from the side, "If you heard something, you should have woke someone up."

Prompto spun his head to face the new voice, "Because I...because you guys didn't believe me earlier, I didn't want to bother anyone with it again." He looked away, his embarrassment from before resurfacing.

"It doesn't matter what we say," The larger responded, "If you feel as though we are in danger, you let us know regardless." His stern yet gentle voice didn't seem to help him feel any better about it, if anything it just added guilt to the range of emotions he was feeling.

"I know, I'm sorry, I wanted to, but I just couldn't."

"Prompto, continue with your story." Ignis said authoritatively, getting them all back on track.

"Right. Well I, I went to go see what it was. But when I looked I didn't see anything, I actually started to believe that maybe I was just paranoid, like you all thought I was." The bitter tone of his voice sent a painful stab to the others. "I thought it was nothing, so I was going to try and forget about it. But then.." He trailed off, hand going to his leg again, tracing that same mark.

Noctis noticed this, that bruise finally coming back to the front of his mind. "Prompto, show us your leg." He didn't care about keeping it secret anymore, didn't care if he didn't want the others to know about. None of that mattered at the moment.

Prompto visibly stiffened at the mention of it. He was trying to delay that part as long as possible. "Umm, I, I was going to head back, but something..." His hands tightened on the fabric covering his legs, knuckles fading into a pale shade, "Something grabbed me." His mouth suddenly felt incredibly dry as he struggled to put his memories into words. "And pulled me into the water." Gazing down at his leg, he hesitantly pulled back the material, revealing the now fading bruise to the others. He closed his eyes, not wanting to see their reactions.

Gladio was the first to say anything about it, "Why the hell didn't you say something?" There was anger, but it was mixed. Mixed anger that was towards Prompto, but also towards himself as well as the others. He already knew the answer. He knew he didn't say anything because of them. They had made it all seem unimportant and chalked it up as nothing. Before he could get an answer he turned his attention towards the prince, "And you knew?! You knew and didn't tell anyone."

Noctis flinched at his accusations, already deep in blame from himself at this point. "He didn't want anyone to know, and I wasn't going push it further if he wasn't ready to talk about it. When he was ready, he was going to."

"Ready or not, it's not something you keep from us." Gladio ground out, quickly losing his patience.

"What kind of friend would I be if I were to bring up something he obviously wasn't comfortable talking about. Don't forget who kept blowing him off when he felt something wasn't right." Noctis raised his voice a little louder, allowing his growing rage to take over.

"Well, what kind of 'friend' lets another friend suffer when he knows something like-" He stopped mid-sentence when he felt a hand grab his upper arm. He cut his eyes to look into Prompto's pleading ones.

"Please, stop." He said faintly, and was almost missed my the others. "Just stop with the arguing already." Prompto wiped the blood from his nose again, smearing it across his face. "I can't take you guys being at each others throats constantly." He pulled off his own bandanna to hold against his face, attempting to stop the bleeding a little. "Please, just stop."

Gladio huffed out a breath of frustrated air, turning his head away from Noctis, who folded his arms and did the same. Not exactly what Prompto had meant, but it was better than them yelling at one another at least. Ignis slid his hand behind the blond's head, pulling it slightly, "Lean forward, head down." He instructed, noticing how the bleeding hadn't slowed much. He did as he was told. "You can go on now. Tell me the rest of what happened."

"Alright." Prompto replied, cutting his eyes at the others, who still appeared to be sulking. "When I was pulled under, I couldn't see much, but I could only make out a couple things. One was...teeth. A lot of them. They were sharp." He looked up to Ignis through strands of messy hair, "And there were arms, tentacle-like arms." He switched his eyes back downward, hating how ridiculous it all sounded out loud like that.

Ignis sat in thought for a few seconds, "Do you recall anything else that would have been out of the ordinary?" Prompto was slightly surprised that he seemed to be taking all this seriously now. Did it really take him attacking someone for them to finally listen to him?

"Yeah, now that you mention it." His face scrunched up at the recollection, "There was this horrible smell before I was dragged off. And that sound...it was like gurgling."

Ignis perked up a little at that. "What did it smell like? And answer honestly."

Prompto didn't miss the urgency in his voice. "It smelled like death. Like rotting and decaying animals. Why?" He half didn't want to know the response to that. He watched as the other man was placing all the pieces together in his head as he slowly figured things out. "Iggy?" He asked, getting his attention, "Wha-what's wrong with me?"

Ignis was staring into blues eyes, "I can't say for certain, but I think I have an ide-"

"Iggy?" Prompto asked again. Those same blue eyes seemed to be slowly losing there focus, taking on a foggy appearance. "What's wrong..." His voice faded out as his body tilted to the side, luckily Ignis was quick to catch him and prevent him from causing more harm to himself.

"Prompto?" He asked, tapping the side of his cheek. He got no response aside from his eyes rolling back like they had before. "Dammit." He cursed under his breath as the first tremor started. "Gladio, jacket." He ordered to the one closest to him. Recognizing the same signs from the other day, he was fast to comply, tossing his jacket over as Ignis stuffed it under the blonde head.

Noctis stayed turned away, not wanting to see this for a second time. Once had been more than enough for him. He didn't even want to risk a glance back as his hands tightened around his arms.

Ignis sat patiently by Prompto's side throughout the whole episode, waiting for the moment it was over. Once it had subsided, he gently rolled him over to his side, wincing has he choked slightly on his own vomit which slowly ran out of his mouth, blood mixing with it. He held his hand in front of his face, satisfied that his breathing was at least fine. Like before, Ignis lifted his head and placed it in his lap, holding him steady.

"Is it over?" Noctis asked from where he stood, now deciding to risk a glance back.

"Yeah, it's fine now." Gladio replied with a hint of bitterness. "No thanks to you."

"Both of you, that is enough." Ignis cut in, getting sick of all the tension himself. "Are you two seriously so daft as to bicker in this current situation?" There was venom lacing each word he spat out. "The least you two can do is pretend to get along until this is over, then by all means, have your petty little alpha contests."

They were both too shocked by his sudden outburst to respond right away, so they settled for staring as the feeling of regret and shame seeped into them and spread out. A quiet moan pulled both of them back in the direction on their young comrade who was now struggling to open his eyes.

Ignis pulled him up a little, propping him up against himself, "You with us?" He asked, expecting to get no reply. And he was correct in that assumption. All he got was another groan as he turned his head to try and bury it. "Take your time." He whispered, more to himself than anything. "Noctis, could you get some water? The other got knocked over...earlier." He avoided mentioning Prompto attacking him for the sake of all of them.

"Yeah." He gave his one word confirmation, striding off to carry out the task. While he did that, Ignis went back to trying to get Prompto to come around completely.

Tilting his head a bit to the side, he stared into slit and cloudy eyes. He still wasn't even aware that he was awake it seemed. There would be no getting through to him now; he needed a bit more time. He brushed a few strands of hair out of his face, coated in a small amount of sweat. Scanning over his face he clicked his tongue at the sight of the vomit and blood that was still on the side of his face. Using his one remaining glove he did what he could to clean it away and cast the soiled material to the side.

"So," Gladio broke the silence that fell between them, "Do you know what's wrong with him then?"

Ignis remained silent, still gazing down. Gradually he met Gladio's eyes, "I have an idea, but I really hope I'm not correct with my conclusion." He switched his gaze back down to the blond, "I am inclined to believe it is some sort of poison or toxin. And from his description of the appearance as well as the scent I have reason to assume it was a marlboro. It adds up anyway."

Gladio looked in the same direction as Ignis, "And that would cause all of this?" He asked, a little skeptically.

"It's possible. The effects from that vile creatures breath vary immensely, so there is a chance of it causing all of this." Prompto shifted against him more, a small whine escaping his lips. "Prom?" He inquired, seeing as the other seemed a little aware now.

Prompto tightly closed his eyes, trying to block them with one of his hands, "Ow." He whimpered as another sharp pain shot through his skull. His other hand went to the side of his head, trying to lessen the pain a bit.

Ignis turned at the sound of Noctis' footsteps behind him, holding out his hand for the water. He gave his short thanks and sat it down next to him for when he was ready for it. Placing a hand on the side of Prompto's face, he slowly turned it to face him, "Hey, can you hear me?"

"Hmm." He hummed in confirmation, not feeling up to forming actual words at the moment. He even cracked his eyes open a slight amount just to show that he actually was listening. The sun was almost blinding, even with it being the evening now, and he had to fight to keep his eyes focused on Ignis.

"Think you can drink some water?" Ignis was already reaching for the bottle without waiting for an answer. "I'm positive you're pretty dehydrated by this point."

Prompto now noticed the dryness in his mouth. He tried to swallow against it, but the attempt was not successful. "Y-yeah." He finally answered, pushing himself up. His vision swam dangerously with the movement and he reached out to grab something to steady himself, but Ignis beat him to it, wrapping an arm around him and supported him.

"Easy, take your time." He soothed, slowly helping the younger to sit up. "Let me know when you're ready, and remember, don't push it." Prompto complied, taking it slowly and giving himself a moment to recompose himself. Seeing this, Ignis carefully removed his arm, allowing the other to have some Independence and hold himself up.

"Ok." He said quietly, barely trusting himself. "I think I'm good." His voice was a little hoarse. Ignis unscrewed the cap and handed him the now open container.

"Slowly." He warned.

Prompto nodded and placed the bottled to his mouth, tilting it back slightly and allowed a very small amount to flow in. It was almost instant relief and he wanted nothing more than drink all of it, but knew better than to. He took a few small swallows of it and lowered it. "Thanks." He said shyly, not meeting anyone's eyes. Humiliation at having to be taken care of was evident in his features and body language.

"Prompto, you know none of this is your fault, right?" Ignis asked, more rhetorically than anything, "It's nothing to be ashamed of, everyone needs help every now and then, and it doesn't make you any less of a person for needing assistance."

"Yeah, I know." Prompto responded and handed the water back to Ignis.

The latter inspected the bottle, not at all satisfied with the amount gone, "I'd prefer if you had a little more than that." He handed the bottle back over, "Just a little more if you can."

Doing as he was told, the blond took a couple more swallows of the water, actually feeling slightly better now that he didn't feel like he was on the verge of death. He pushed it back to the other, feeling that drinking any more would make him feel sick. Exhaustion was quickly taking its hold on him now. "I think I should just go to sleep." He decided for himself as his eyes were now working against him.

"Go ahead." Ignis gave his approval, "It's probably the best you can do at the moment. We'll be here for a while, so sleep as long as you need." He helped him to lie back down, still using Gladio's jacket as a pillow, who had no objection to it. "We're leaving first thing in the morning." He said, directed at the others. "And I don't plan on stopping again."


	10. Perpetrator

The night wore on painfully slowly, or that's how it felt to Ignis as he took the first watch, feeling more secure if he were the one to take it over the other two. Not that he didn't trust them, it just felt right if he were the one to do it. The majority of the night was spent watching the young gunslinger closely, rarely taking his eyes off him. He slept soundly through the night, which was a huge relief, but it did nothing to ease the concern he felt.

Hours rolled on without incident, and Ignis was beginning to feel the tugs and pulls of slumber gripping at him. He deemed it safe enough to allow one of the others to take over his watch for him. With a light hand, he reluctantly disturbed Gladio from his sleep, shaking his shoulder subtly, afraid that he would wake the others if he were to add any more force behind it. Fortunately the larger man awoke with ease, and knew what was needed of him before he could even be told.

With a single nod and took Ignis' place in sitting between the Prompto and Noctis were he stayed relatively statue still for the remainder of the night. Although only a few hours remained until sunrise, with all the tension and stress of the situation it felt like much longer than that as every second ticked by at a grueling pace.

Eventually the first tendrils of light broke out, weaving throughout the sky and chasing away the stars. He basked in the moment before tearing the other three from their restful states. Starting with Ignis and Noctis, he woke them each up, leaving the blonde to sleep a little longer while they cleaned things up and prepared to depart.

As Gladio was finishing up, Ignis took it upon himself to wake the last of the group, crouching down next to Prompto and gently placing a hand on his upper arm. He gave a light nudge calling his name softly. "Prompto, it's time to go, wake up."

The latter slowly opened his eyes, surprisingly waking up rather easily. "Hmm?" He questionably hummed groggily, using one of his hands to block out the sun; the sun which seemed to be far too bright for his liking.

"We are about to be on our way soon." Ignis responded, moving to position himself so that he was blocking the majority of the light. "How are you feeling?"

Prompto removed his hand once he was mostly blanketed in shadow, "Ummm, pretty alright I guess." He slurred, closing his eyes again, "Jus' tired."

"I know, but we need to leave." He said compassionately, having patience with his unwillingness to move. "I'll be right back, I do at least want you to drink some water before we go." He straightened himself to collect the water, and as he was turning to walk away he caught Prompto's slight wave as he turned over to his other side, he assumed to go back to sleep. Ignis only shook his head and continued forward.

As he retrieved the water bottle from the previous night he heard Gladio's voice behind him, "Everything alright?" He asked, noticing the obvious concern written on the other's face.

Ignis offered him a sigh before replying, "For the most part," He started, shooting a glance behind them, "I think a lot of what's been going on is just catching up with him now." He pushed past Gladio, but not in an aggressive way, and made his way back over to their gunslinger, who of course was asleep once again. Using the same method as before, Ignis once again roused him out of his slumber.

"Wha?" Prompto groaned this time, clearly getting annoyed now. He didn't open his eyes now, and instead stayed in the same position he was in.

Ignis placed a gentle, yet firm, hand on Prompto's shoulder, forcing him to turn back over. He then held up the water in front of his face once he finally peaked through heavy lids, "Here, drink some. Even if you don't feel like it, drink it." Without asking he was already supporting Prompto in sitting up, not wanting to waste unnecessary time. He was at least thankful at the lack of a fight he put up. Though he wasn't sure if he should be thankful for that.

Unscrewing the cap for him, he handed it over as Prompto held in it both hands, which felt oddly shaky and weak. Ignis hadn't noticed before, but now that he could see him in the morning light, he could see how pale he now looked. That combined with the stark contrast of his eyes made him appear almost sickly. He looked far worse than the day before, that much was for certain. Lost in thought, Ignis wasn't aware that Prompto was now trying to hand the water back to him, now done with it. He didn't exactly drink a lot of it, but it was better than nothing at least.

"And I don't suppose you want to try eating something?" Ignis asked hopefully, remembering that he had barely had anything in the last few days. And he got the response he was expecting; that familiar shake of the head. "Are you sure? You need to at least try." He tried to persuade him, talking quietly to him.

"I'm sure." He answered swiftly, not wanting to talk about it further. Ignis only tightened his mouth in a thin line, finally taking the water back and capping it back up.

"Alright, if you really don't want to." There was disappointment behind his words, but he tried not to let it show too much. "Do you think you are about ready to go then?" He asked instead, changing the subject.

Prompto sat in silence for a moment, and after about ten seconds Ignis was starting to wonder if he even heard him. Opening his mouth to ask again, he gave his reply, "If I have to." Tone void of any hints of optimism, he pushed away from the other man to get to his feet. Ignis reached out to help him, but he was quick to slap it away, "I can stand up myself."

The bespectacled man said nothing as he carefully retracted his offered hand, allowing the other to be independent. And just as he predicted, it didn't take long before he was leaning dangerously to the side. Instinctively he grabbed Prompto by the shoulder, preventing him from face planting at least, but again, his hand was roughly smacked away. "I told you, I don't need your pity." His voice held no venom in it, but instead, it sounded more worn and overall just miserable. He gazed at Ignis out of the corner of his eyes, though they carried a glassy coating over them.

"Prompto..." Ignis began to say, but stopped himself. He kept his hands hovering nearby, just to be safe, but tried to keep his distance. "Just...don't push yourself." He decided to say instead.

"Are we leaving soon, or what?" Noctis asked as he walked up, watching his friend closely after seeing how Ignis was standing protectively close to him. He looked to him questionably, who in turn just shook his head sadly. The prince understood the meaning behind that and stepped back a bit, giving them some space to collect themselves.

"Yeah, I won't." Prompto turned to face Ignis completely now, "I'm ready now." He said, now turning his head to speak to Noctis. He took a couple of unsteady first steps, but soon they became more natural and sure. The two left behind shared a concerned glance and quickly joined the blonde, following close behind.

Gladio cast his eyes over his shoulder at the sound of approaching footsteps, "I assume everyone is ready?" When Prompto didn't answer he threw his gaze past him to the other two. Noctis only nodded, eyes flicking to meet Gladio's. The latter said nothing more, seeing the obvious warning about the blonde's mood.

"I believe we are all ready to head out." Ignis answered, not missing a beat, and talking as if nothing was amiss. He supposed it was to uphold any sort of normalcy they had left. Which, if they were being honest, they were pretty appreciative for. "We should be able to return before nightfall tonight, as long as no one hampers our pace." He pulled Gladio to the side to real quick, "Keep a close eye on him, will you?" He said, looking to Prompto's back, "Knowing him, he's not going to tell anyone when he needs assistance, and he's in no condition to be walking the whole way there. The stubborn fool."

"Yeah, got it." Gladio patted him lightly on the shoulder as he stepped forward, flanking Prompto's left side. Ignis sped up himself and went to take the front of the group once more.

* * *

To everyone's surprise, their gunslinger was actually managing to keep up with them. He may not have been in as high spirits as he normally was, but he was keeping up nonetheless. A stumble here and there wasn't too bad considering, and more than once Gladio found himself almost stepping in, but stopping himself as he didn't want to hinder Prompto's fragile freedom when it came to doing things for himself. This went on until they were once again facing the edge of the marsh, its familiar and putrid smell assaulting their noses.

That's when the change in his pace took a drastic turn as he ceased altogether. His eyes fearfully scanned the waters that lied in front of him and he unconsciously took a step back as his body worked on its own in an act of self preservation. It absolutely did not want to move an inch at the sight of this place. "No no no." He repeated silently to himself, the words seemingly flowing out on their own accord.

He gave a startled jump when he felt something touch his shoulder, and spun around to face what it was. Ignis stared back at him, "I know you don't want to go through here, but it's the fastest way back."

"Are you sure we can't just go around or something?" Prompto asked with desperation crystal clear in his voice. "I'm mean, There has to be another way."

"That would take far too long, perhaps days if we were to go around; we have no clue how large this swamp is, and I do not intend to find out." The terror in his eyes pulled at him, "Everything is going to be fine, we know what's out there now." He continued encouragingly, "Nothing else is going to happen now."

Prompto let that thought simmer for a few moments, wanting to trust the other with everything he had, but his paranoia was flaring up again as well. No matter what the others said, he wasn't going to feel comfortable about any of this until he was certain it was over for good. "Alright." He finally said tightly. He followed Ignis closely now and cringed visibly as his foot sank beneath the green murk. And then another step. Resulting in another wince of displeasure. He was vaguely aware of his hands balling up at his sides, but he could feel his nails digging into his palms, yet it seemed to float to the back of his mind.

Noctis was behind him, and seeing his friend's internal struggles, he slid a hand carefully onto his back, "Just try not to think about it." He tried to help get his mind off it, "Try focusing on something else."

Prompto gave him a forced, yet kind smile, "Yeah, easier said than done." his voice quivered slightly. "I'm sorry." He said more quietly as a shiver ran through him.

"About what exactly?" Noctis asked.

Prompto bit his lower lip in hesitation, unsure of how to word it. "I'm just... It's just that..." He danced around in his thoughts a bit, "I feel like I'm being too paranoid about this." He looked away and berated under his breath, "Such a damn coward."

Noctis felt a sharp pang at that. Did he honestly think that? "Look, I'm not sure exactly what happened, but from the sound of it, it doesn't seem like you are overreacting." He tried to comfort, "You're not a coward, alright?"

"I'm not sure if I can honestly believe that anymore." He picked up his speed in order to put a little distance between the two of them. Noctis stayed behind, seeing that the other evidently needed some space. He glanced to Gladio, knowing that he heard the whole thing, and he offered him a half smile as he closed the gap between himself and the blonde, still wanting to be close just in case.

They went on in silence for a little longer, and just like earlier, Gladio was there and lurched forward with every falter and trip. If the others didn't know better it would have looked as though he were being a bit overprotective. Ignis would take the occasional glimpse back to check up on him, and he couldn't help but be worried about it. Not only because he seemed to struggle more as time went on, but also because they were going far too slow for his comfort. At this rate it would take a couple days.

As that idea played through his head he heard a swift change in the splashes behind him; they came almost to a stop. Looking back he found Prompto staring off, Gladio right next to him holding onto his upper arm, supposedly the only thing keeping him upright now. He backtracked to stand in front of him, and in his eyes he saw nothing; he wasn't there. "Prompto?" He asked, cupping his face in one hand. He was breathing rather quickly. "Gladio, do you have a good hold on him?"

"Yeah." He answered quickly. "Why?"

Ignis watched as his eyes dimmed even more and started to roll back, "He's about to pass out." As the last syllable passed his lips, the blonde's knees buckled from beneath him and Gladio was quick to catch him. He was completely limp in his arms. It happened so quickly he didn't know how to react to it; he was walking almost as if nothing was wrong, and then all of a sudden he had just stopped. "Like I said, he doesn't know when to ask for help or when to tell someone something's wrong. And look now, he pushed himself too far, precisely like I knew he would."

"Is he gonna be alright though?" Noctis asked, moving a little closer to get a better look.

Ignis nodded stiffly, "Yeah, he will be. Exhaustion caught up with him, that combined with his lack of eating anything sustainable. His body was bound to rebel sooner or later, but he'll be fine." He brushed back strands of pale gold hair, feeling the temperature of his skin, relieved that that still felt safe. "When he wakes up, you are not to let him walk on his own again. I do not care what he says, or how much he complains, it's not happening." His words were final.

"Yeah, I understand." Gladio scooped Prompto into his arms, just as he had done the previous day. The younger relaxed against him as he was in his rag doll state. "You sure are a lot of trouble, I hope you know that." He said to his comatose form.

Ignis didn't want to mention it, but he was a bit thankful for his fainting, not only for the sake of getting out of this place quicker, but also for his own health. He was spending energy that he no longer contained. Without another word, he went about setting their new pace, which was more than double what it had been. But to be fair, the previous one hadn't been all that fast to begin with.

A couple more hours passed as the waded through the waist deep greenish muck, soaking them through with the grotesqueness they grew to despise. Gladio glared down at the young man in his arms, "You have it easy now." He said humorously, "Getting to stay dry and clean this time around."

"And I'm sure he will greatly appreciate that when he comes to." Ignis threw behind him. He stopped dead in his tracks when something flared out of the corner of his eye. "Did either of you see that?" He asked, one-hundred percent serious now as he drifted closer to where it was. "Noctis, come with me, Gladio, stay where you are." He instructed as the two of them gradually went in that direction.

Noctis followed as asked, "What is it?" He asked after a few steps.

Ignis said nothing as he focused all his attention on his sight and hearing, waiting for any other signs to show themselves. He held up a hand, signalling for the prince to remain silent. Listening closely, he caught a faint grumbling that sounded to be a few yards away. "That must be it." He said more to himself.

"You mean the thing that did that to Prompto?" Noctis asked bitterly, gesturing back with his hand. "Can't wait to get my hands on this son of a bitch." Without another thought now that he was set on his goal he began to move forward.

"Noct." Ignis warned with a grab of his arm, "Control yourself. Rushing in there will do no one any good. We have no knowledge of where it even is." He turned back to Gladio, "Keep an eye out, and do what you are able to keep your distance from it." Once Ignis got his confirmation he turned back to Noctis and called one of his daggers, "You stay right here, I'm going ahead." Noctis was about to protest to that idea, so he cut him off before he could speak, "I'll need you to be back up. If something happens, you will be able to act faster than I would be able to."

Noctis still didn't like the idea, but he felt inclined to go along with it. It did sound to be more logical anyway, he had to admit. He watched Ignis' back as it slowly got further and further away. He got about fifteen feet away and stopped to listen once again. Giving it about twenty seconds, he came up empty handed, it was as if it was never there. Taking another scan around he straightened himself up and dismissed his weapon, deeming the area relatively clear.

Noctis let out a deep breath, not feeling any better about the situation knowing that thing was out there somewhere. And the fact that it could slip away so easily without their realizing only made matters more stressful. As Ignis was cautiously making his way back, he tossed a look back to the others, just to make sure they were fine. He was starting to understand Prompto's paranoia now. "Iggy? Any chance we can track this thing down?"

"I wish it were that simple, but-" He was cut off as his voice transitioned into a resounding splash.

Noctis spun his head around at the noise, "Iggy?" He asked as he faced where the man was, but he was met with swamp. "Iggy!" He called again, a bit more urgently.


	11. Encounter

"Iggy? Any chance we can track this thing down?"

If they weren't in the environment they were, it may have been possible, but they were in its territory. "I wish it were that simple, but-" He felt something slither around his ankle, but before he had the opportunity to react or counter it, it jerked violently, successfully submerging him below the surface. He could faintly hear his name being called in the background. He looked to what was holding him hostage, and it was exactly how Prompto had described. Instinctively he summoned his dagger back and gripped it tightly. In one swift slash he felt it slice cleanly through the appendage encasing him.

The creature reeled back from the unexpected pain as it reflexively breathed out its rancid breath in self-defense. Thinking quickly, Ignis turned his head and pulled himself away and back towards the surface. Under water he wasn't likely to get any in his system, but he didn't want to risk it. Luckily it wasn't able to take him too far before he could escape and he broke through in a matter of seconds. Taking in a deep inhale of air he heard the familiar "Ignis!" again as Noctis was struggling through the water to get to him.

"Stay where you are." Ignis warned as he recovered, "The water is deep over here and it's still down there somewhere. I only managed to slightly injure it, but it won't be enough to deter it." He continued to fight his way until he was standing on somewhat solid ground once more.

"Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere until I get my chance to fight this damn thing." Noctis declared determinedly. "Not until it's good and dead." He summoned his own weapon as he made his statement, wrapping his fingers around its hilt tightly.

"What did I say about keeping your anger in check, Noct?" Ignis stated as he reached the prince, "We must be careful about this."

"Yeah, looks like being careful really worked out for you." He replied in a harsher tone than intended, "I think we should try this my way now."

"Is everything alright over there?" Gadio called over, far enough way that he was only hearing bits and pieces of conversations. "Is Iggy alright?" He went to take a step, but was swiftly held back by Ignis' response.

"Everything is fine, I'm fine, don't come any closer." He gazed behind him to make sure it was still somewhat clear, "If you can, make sure you aren't near any of the deeper parts, it shouldn't be able to sneak up on you if you're far enough in the shallow parts."

Gladio may not have been fully behind that plan, but keeping Prompto safe was his main priority for the moment, and he intended to do just that. He re-positioned the blonde slightly, earning a small whimper from him. He felt that subtle shift as the man was slowly waking up. "Why now of all times?" Gladio rhetorically asked to himself. "Hey." He greeted softly as blue orbs peeked through heavy lids up at him.

Prompto blinked a couple times, clearing his foggy vision, "Hi." He slurred out, still obviously half-asleep. He wearily gazed around, recognizing where he was as his sight sobered up and eyes widened. "Wh-what are-?" He was dragged from his worries and concerns when his face was pulled back to look at Gladio.

"Calm down." He said in a low and supportive voice, "Everything is fine." The panic behind his eyes lightened up marginally, but he still seemed to be quite anxious.

Prompto nodded, but it was more so an attempt to convince himself that Gladio was speaking the truth. "Y-yeah. Ok." He settled down a bit more, then instantly perked back at as new fear coursed through him, "Noct and Iggy, where are they?" He shot up quickly as he asked, almost causing Gladio to lose his hold on him.

"Hey, keep still, unless you want to take a dip." Gladio warned as he tightened his grasp, trying to restrain the other a tad bit. "They're fine, they're just over there." He gestured with a nod of his head in their direction, which Prompto followed.

Seeing the other two in the distance, he relaxed back against the other man, releasing a sigh of relief. "Good." He said under his breath, bringing his attention back to Gladio. Then curiosity got the better of him, "Why are they so far away?"

Not sure if he should answer that honestly or not, he settled on an obscure one, "They are just dealing with something right now; Ignis wanted us to stay back while they take care of it." That didn't appear to pacify the blonde any.

"They-they shouldn't be out there." He stuttered, trying to push himself away. "It's not safe." He was speaking faster than normal, a clear sign that hysteria was setting in. "Gladio, put me down." He said between grit teeth as he tried to struggle more, but in his weakened state it felt like nothing.

The other was trying to keep his frustration at a low level, knowing that it wasn't Prompto's fault for acting the way he was. "They know what they're doing. And before you ask, yes they know what's out there and they are taking care of it. So just relax and leave it to them, ok?"

He could feel the tautness of his muscles as he let the words sink in, eyes flicking back over to the others. "How do you know they'll be fine though?" He asked, getting prepared to try and make another break for it.

"This is Ignis and Noctis you're talking about, of course they got this." He answered matter-of-factly. "Look, you've bee through a lot, I know, so your fear is understandable, but you need to try and calm down. Freaking out won't help anything." It was as if his words didn't even matter as the blonde continued to fight against him. "Dammit, Prompto!"

"Please." He begged, eyes never leaving the others, "Please, this is really not alright." He was beginning to get desperate now. "Just put me down, and I promise-I promise I'll wait right here. It'll be better with three of you, I know it will." His voice was rapidly becoming more hoarse and strained with each word, "Just...just please..."

It hurt to see him so clearly frightened for the others, it didn't feel right. "I already told you that isn't happening. For once just stay quiet and let others handle things." He took a deep breath to push his irritation back down, "Trust me, they will be able to take care of things much better knowing you're safe. If I were to join them, leaving you to fend for yourself they way you are, we would all be too distracted to even protect ourselves."

This finally seemed to get through to him as his fruitless efforts died down, but his focus still remained on those in the distance, "If...if things start to go wrong, promise you'll go help?" He asked quietly, almost inaudibly.

"Yeah." Gladio offered, "I promise."

Both Ignis and Noctis backed away from the earth's decline until the decided they were at a safe enough distance. "So, what exactly do you suggest we do? Since you are so against going after the damn thing." Noctis asked with bite behind his words.

Ignis gave him his knowing smirk, "We'll just have to draw it out. We cannot fight it where it normally resides, so we'll simply have to entice it out of its comfort zone."

"Something tells me I'm not going to like this." Noctis said, although on the inside he was overflowing with excitement. "Tell me though, how exactly to you plan on doing that?"

"I'm glad you asked." He pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose, "How much of a distraction do you think you can put up? I'm going to need some convincing bait."

Noctis gave him his own smile, "Well, you're asking the right person."

"I'll leave it to you, Noct. Only warning I can give is to heed its breath." He nodded that he understood.

"Yeah, I got it." Noctis dismissed his blade for a more practical one that was better suited for what he had planned. Trading it out for his crossbow, he took aim towards where he guessed the beast to be as he took a couple steps closer. Without hesitation he unleashed a barrage of bolts into the water, each one creating a defined and dense splash. As he did this, Ignis made sure to stay behind him so as not to get in the way. "How many do you suppose it'll take to piss him off?" He asked as he continued to fire.

Ignis didn't reply, and instead kept his full concentration on the water's surface. When that one ripple finally showed itself that wasn't like the others, he acted immediately. Just as Noctis witnessed enough of the creature to notices its teeth, it was automatically engulfed in flames. It all happened so fast, he half didn't expect it and had to shield his eyes from the overwhelming heat it produced. "A warning next time, will ya?" He suggested through clenched teeth as he stepped back.

He felt more heat coming off his weapon and gazed down at it to see the same glow coming off it, "Keep firing." Ignis said as he once again made his way behind the prince.

"Alright, if you say so." He replied as he let loos another storm of bolts, each one hitting their mark as they erupted. Though not nearly as impressive as the first, these still packed a bit of a punch.

Gladio and Prompto viewed the spectacle from their safe distance, the array of oranges and yellows dancing in their eyes. "And you doubted them." Gladio teased confidently.

"Nope, that never came out of my mouth." The blonde replied stubbornly, with a tinge of humor. "I can't believe you were so worried about them." He felt all the tension that had been building up finally melt away.

Noctis shot until the fires died down and he was now shooting plain bolts. He ceased his attack and dismissed his crossbow, taking in the damage of what he could see. Though it was difficult to see anything through the rolling clouds of smoke. He squinted his eyes in an attempt to see better. He was pretty sure he saw movement, but he wasn't sure if it was the marlboro or the smoke playing tricks on him.

"Noct, get down!" He didn't have time to react before he was tackled down and held where he was. "Don't breath." Ignis quickly added as he held his own breath. Noctis glanced around, noticing how the air now took on a greenish hue. The fumes alone were enough to make his eyes sting as tears began to slowly stream down.

He held his breath though, even if being knocked to the ground did knock the air out of him and he was beyond tempted to take one. By the time he was on the verge of giving in, a loud bang rang out and echoed in his ears. He knew that sound. His gaze darted upward and were instantly drawn to the end of a barrel with a thin stream of smoke twirling upward. It was far away and past all the toxic air, but he could clearly make it out.

"Prompto, what are you doing?!" Gladio's voice resounded. He was too distracted by the commotion of the other two that he hadn't been aware of what the man in his arms had been doing. "I thought I told you to leave it to them."

Prompto held his gun steady, adrenaline coursing strongly through him, "I-I couldn't help it." His voice quivered slightly at realizing what he did, "My body just acted on its own, like a reflex." His arms began to tremble a small amount from the weight of holding up his own weapon, that burst of energy dissipating. Gladio could only watch as it slid out of his grip and splashed into the swamp.

Noctis and Ignis pushed themselves up, to their relief the shot was at least enough to throw the beast off its task and it relinquished its breath. Thankful for that, Noctis offered him a thumbs up, "Thanks." He looked back as all that remained were the last remnants of smoke and ripples that hypnotically spread from where that thing once was. "Come back!" Noctis yelled in its vicinity, drawing his great sword and made his way over with purpose. "I'm not finished yet!"

Ignis placed a hand against his chest to prevent him from perusing, "That's enough, Noct. It's no use; by now it's most likely too far away."

"I don't give a damn! It's still alive!" He grabbed Ignis' wrist and pried it away, thrusting it aside. "I'm going after it."

"Don't be a fool." He seized him by the arm this time, holding on solidly, "It is no use. Even if it didn't have the advantage in the depths, it would still be desperate for survival. You should know how dangerous it is when the combination of the two."

Noctis only ripped his arm away and spun around to walk back towards the others, dismissing his blade on the way.

"I-is everything ok?" Prompto asked the moment Noctis was within range, "Are you two alright?" Again, he was practically trying to crawl his way away from Gladio.

"Yeah, we're fine." Noctis answered gloomily, "Thanks to you. Nice shot by the way." Though it was said as a compliment, Promtpo still heard the blame and regret behind it.

His eyes glanced from him to Ignis, "What's going on?" He asked quietly.

"It's nothing Prom, don't worry about it." The prince forced out, "Let's just get going, I've had enough of this place."


	12. What You Owe

**Thank you again so much** **SinikkavonWolperting for beta reading and backing be up throughout this entire thing. It truly means a lot to me.**

 **Also, there are many more planned out after this one, so I will be continuing to write for some time. ;3**

The gloom of the marsh had worked its way into the four as they trudged on in uncomfortable silence. Ignis leading, with Noctis following, almost sulking, behind him. And then there was Gladio carrying a now asleep again Prompto. It had taken mere minutes after their encounter for him to go out again, and this time even some of the more intense step downs and ups Gladio took wasn't enough to phase him.

It didn't go unnoticed by him and Gladio the way Noctis constantly had his hands balled up in fists at his sides as he occasionally scanned the area. He clearly still had his rage running full force through him as regret of not finishing things off when he had the chance were still fresh in his mind. He couldn't stop thinking about it. If he had just been a bit more prepared for it, or if only he hadn't hesitated as much, then maybe he would have been able to kill it and it would no longer be their problem anymore.

He felt himself being roughly pushed to the side as Gladio shoved past him, "What's your deal?" Noctis scoffed, finally taking his eyes off the water around him to look at the other man.

"That should be my questions." Gladio said with a light chuckle, though it lacked all sense of banter, "You've been so moody I think I would rather have that thing as company right about now."

"I'm not 'moody'" He took a few larger steps to get back in front, "I prefer the term 'irritated'. It's much more fitting."

"You can call it whatever you want, but it won't change the fact that you're basically pouting." He changed his tone to a more gentle and serious one, "There's nothing you can do about it now. Better to just let it go and look forward."

Noctis lowered his head, knowing the words to be true, but not wanting to accept them, he knew deep down that he still could have done more. "Yeah, I know." He took a deep breath and cast his gaze towards to sky, "Can't change the past, but can't change how I feel about it either."

"That may be so, still, it can influence your future actions, so take some comfort in that at the very least." Ignis gave his two cents. "Dwelling on it will only stress you out unnecessarily."

"Yeah, I don't think wrinkles would suit you very well." Gladio added, attempting to lighten the mood. The person whose job it was to do that was currently out of commission, so someone had to do it. "Take Iggy's advice and just leave it be."

"I'll try, but I can't promise anything." It was something anyway. "This whole thing has just been one huge mess after another. And we had so many opportunities to do something about it, but we screwed up on every single one." He looked over to Prompto, "Even when it was right in our faces we were too stubborn and short-sighted to even care."

"So that's what this is really about." Gladio realized, "Feeling guilty about everything that's happened huh?"

Noctis remained silent and tore his gaze away. So much could have been bypassed if they would have just taken Prompto's previous grievances instead of brushing it off as him being a coward or overreacting. "Of course." He finally retorted, "Don't you?"

"Not one of us is free of fault here. We all played our role in ignoring obvious signs. Though, it is as I said, there is no use in residing in that shame now. It will do nothing but continue to sour our disposition and sully our current perception." Ignis stopped where he was to turn and face Noctis, "Don't try to bear the burden that is all of ours to withhold. Do you think he would hold you solely accountable for any of this?"

Noctis turned his head away, "No, that's the problem though, he wouldn't blame any of us for anything."

"Precisely. Take a lesson from him when you can." Ignis placed a hand on his shoulder, and let it slide off as he switched back to his earlier direction. "Let us get out of this godforsaken place now before we make anymore regrettable decisions."

* * *

As light as the blonde may have been, it didn't stop him from slowly becoming a bit heavy over time. Especially when most of the man's strength went into navigating through the thick grime at the swamp's bottom. Carefully, he re-adjusted his hold on Prompto. During this, the latter's hand slipped off his body and fell to suspend lifelessly to his side. "Noctis." Gladio called, "A little help with this if you don't mind."

"Hmm?" Noctis hummed, looking over his shoulder, "Oh, yeah." Stepping back, he picked up his arm by the wrist, placing it back around him, but hesitated when something didn't feel right.

"Everything alright?" Gladio pressed quizzically, seeing the look on the prince's face.

Noctis continued to feel Prompto's pulse, it was barely even noticeable. Not to mention it was fluttering beneath his own fingers. "I don't know." He said lowly, almost whispering.

"What do you mean 'you don't know.'?" Gladio asked concernedly. "What is it?"

"His pulse, it doesn't seem right to me."

At this Ignis stepped in to take a look for himself. He half gently nudged Noctis to move to the side and took the blonde's wrist into his own hand ad placed a couple fingers over it. He gave it a few seconds, "It's definitely weak, but it is steady, which is a good thing. Still obviously is a reason to worry, but it is also to be expected."

He was about to release his hold, but stopped as a small tremor ran through to his hand. Gladio must have felt it as well because he instinctively firmed up his hold on the younger man. "How the hell are we supposed to deal with this where we are?" Gladio asked, emphasizing his point by running his eyes over the water, "Can't exactly lie him down out here."

"Just don't drop him." Ignis answered quickly, trying to give an answer on the spot. Holding him like this wasn't ideal, but it sounded far better than letting him flail around in the murk. It didn't take long after that for it to begin. Gladio kept to it in making sure Prompto remained dry and in his arms, though it definitely wasn't easy. Ignis stayed by his side though, just to ensure that he did indeed remain where he was.

Noctis didn't feel the need to look away this time, which he didn't feel to great about. It meant he was getting used to this now, and that thought alone was enough to disturb him. He still stayed where he was though, not wanting to be in the way.

Just like before, when it was over the first thing Ignis did was check him over, making sure he could breath properly and everything. The one thing that deeply worried him was the steady thin stream of blood that dripped from his nose. It seemed a bit heavier than before. Since Prompto couldn't do it for himself, Ignis took it upon himself to punch his nose as he held his head forward. "This should only take a few minutes." He spoke softly to the others. To Noctis he sounded almost exhausted, which he probably was with as much as he was going through himself.

The prince stepped in, "I can take it from here." He offered Ignis this time to take it easy, and to let someone else do the taking care of for once.

"I'll leave it to you then." Ignis answered, gently switching places with him. "Keep it like that until it stops."

"Alright." Noctis replied, keeping a supportive hand on the back of Prompto's head. "We're almost out of here." He said to his unconscious form, knowing he couldn't hear him, but it still provided him with some sort of comfort. "How much further do you suppose it is anyway?" He asked louder so Ignis could hear him.

"If we hurry, perhaps another five hours. The sun will begin to set though around that time. Do you two suppose you can walk while still maintaining that position?"

They both nodded in confirmation. Knowing what was at stake, they would make it work without a problem. "Ready?" Gladio asked before taking the first step, and it didn't take the long to get into the rhythm of it. To Noct's relief it only took a few minutes for the bleeding to come to a full stop, and using his own jacket, he wiped away the blood from his face as best he could. There was still a faint stain, but it was better than it had been. He slowly placed his head back against Gladio's arm and draped his jacket over his own.

"I think it's done." Noctis spoke to the others, watching for a few more moments just to be sure there were no more surprises. After decided everything was good for the time being, he returned himself to be back behind Ignis, falling back into their usual order. "We can go faster now." Noctis suggested subtly.

"I would not propose that." Ignis replied knowingly. "You've already seen this place has drop offs into much deeper areas, and I do not wish to risk any of us falling under and being in danger."

"He's right." Gladio backed him up on this one. "Shouldn't risk making things worse than they already are."

"Are you sure this is alright though?" Noctis pressed, "I understand what you're trying to say, but shouldn't we still try to pick it up at least a little bit more?"

"It will be fine, Noct, we still have much daylight left. The only chances of us not making it in time now is if we were to stop frequently or get off course. As long as we keep out current speed and trajectory, we will have no problem reaching our destination in time." Ignis gave him a reassuring smile, "He is lucky to have a friend that is that worried about him though."

Noctis blushed slightly at that remark, "If you say so." He played it off coolly as he looked away.

* * *

The waters eventually became more shallow as the fog slowly cleared from their sight and they could see more than a few feet in front of themselves now. Each step brought their legs further out of the clutches of murk and closer to the sweet embrace of safety. The moisture that clung to their clothes was already starting to dry as it made them feel stiff and just overall uncomfortable and foul. It would probably take weeks to get the stench out. They might be better off just trashing these garments altogether with how saturated with sludge they were.

And after what felt like decades, they took their first steps onto semi-dry land, though it did nothing to raise their spirits or to drive away their dejected thoughts that somehow managed to nest in the deepest extent of their being. Each was being weighed down by their own remorse and regrets form the past few days; each had their own internal disputes about what they could have done differently. But, knowing there was no changing any of it now, they continued on without a word about it.

Lazily, the warmth of the sun began to chisel away at their chilled disposition, giving a new air to their overall mood. Noctis had to look away for a few seconds to give his eyes the chance to adjust to the change. He took one last look behind him, watching as the marsh faded into the distance, along with his lingering anger and grief. Of course, some still resided in him, but it was enough that he could push down far enough to forget about it for a short while. At least until this was over for good. He could handle it for that long.

He gazed over at Prompto, getting a good look at him now that they had proper light. Needless to say, it was like witnessing a shadow of what he should be. He appeared to be so small and fragile, especially when in the arms of someone the size of Gladio. And the sallow image of his skin only served to highlight the red tint under his nose. To put it lightly, he looked dreadful.

Gladio must have noticed the prince's thoughts showing through as he followed his gaze, taking it all in himself, "I'm sure with some proper rest and food, he will be looking fine again in no time."

"Do you think letting him come along with us was a mistake?" Noctis asked, ignoring the other's previous statement. "He's not trained like us to handle some of these situations."

"He's not weak by any means." Ignis said from the front, "He's proven to be fully capable of holding his own."

Noctis flinched slightly at that, "I-I'm not doubting his abilities, I'm just saying, he has far less experience than we do. I would trust him with my life, but sometimes I get the feeling he underestimates his own value and takes far too many risks." He took a deep breath to calm himself, "He tries too hard sometimes."

"And that is precisely the reason bringing him was no mistake." Ignis convincingly responded, "This is how you learn. By your own tribulations and efforts. Secondly, not allowing him to join would have had devastating results. If he's already doubting himself as it is, how do you think it would have impacted him to know he wasn't up to par to accompany you?"

"I know that." He replied a little impatiently, "I didn't think things would get this bad though. I was just expecting a straight-forward trip. Not this mess."

"None of us expected it." Gladio spoke up, "But now we have to deal with it. And for someone who isn't trained for these sort of things, I think he did a damn good job handling it. Aside from his occasional stubbornness that is. That sort of thing might get him killed one day."

"Too headstrong for his own good." Ignis agreed. "Unfortunately, I do not believe this ordeal is going to sway him to change in that department."

"I'm not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing." Gladio laughed to himself.

"Wouldn't have it any other way." Noctis said.

He cast his eyes forward once again, meeting the glorious sight of sand once again in the distance. Well, it wasn't exactly glorious, but it did indicate that they didn't have too much further to go now. On the downside, the sun was pretty low in the sky now. They maybe had two or three hours of daylight left.

He turned back at the sound of a soft cough. Prompto had his eyes partially open as he cleared his throat. The sight of a small dribble of blood dripping out of the corner of his mouth was pretty unsettling to the prince. Blood that probably found its way there from his nose bleed earlier. Unable to tolerate the sight, he walked over to wipe it away with the back of his hand. "Hey." He greeted the blond and rubbed the blood off his hand and onto his pants instead.

Prompto said nothing, but his eyes did drift over, so Noctis guessed he heard him. He coughed again and the drop of blood was replaced by another. He then turned his head to the side to spit out a small glob of it. Fortunately for Gladio, it missed his shoe this time. Lying his head back again there was now a smear of red instead.

Noctis took it upon himself to do what he could to clean his face off with what he had, which at the time was just his jacket, "How ya feeling?" He asked with his lack of enthusiasm.

To respond, he only slowly shook his head, closing his eyes tightly as pain pulsed behind them. He was unable to prevent the small whine the leaked out and tried to bury his face under his arm. Which would have worked fine if his arms actually wanted to cooperate. He was quickly getting frustrated at the weakness of his own body and quickly gave up with a grunt. Opening his mouth to try and speak finally, the only thing that resulted from that was more coughs.

"Ignis? Do you have that water?" Gladio asked, trying to raise one arm a bit to help the other sit up slightly.

With a hum, he retrieved and handed it to Noctis, "Small sips." He instructed right before the exchange.

Noctis nodded and opened it up, placing it against Prompto's lips, seeing as he wouldn't be able to hold it for himself at this point. He tilted it at a small angle, allowing just a smidgen to flow out. His first response was to spit it back out so as not to choke on it. "Come on, you need to drink some." Noctis reminded. "Just take it slowly." Prompto nodded and Noctis tried again. This time it went down easier. Once he swallowed that amount, he pulled the bottle way, ignoring the red painted edges of the plastic.

"Thanks." The blonde croaked out, clearing his throat again as the word irritated it with the unwanted use. He felt so exhausted, but he didn't want to go back to sleep. He felt like he had been doing enough of that already.

"That wasn't nearly enough." Noctis scolded, offering the water back.

Prompto opened his eyes back to stare at the prince, "I'm good." He replied, changing his focus to the dimming sky now. "What time?" He asked, voice breaking at the end, but it was enough for Noctis to understand.

He pulled out his phone, turning on the back-light, and read the time, "It's a few passed six." Turning it back off, he replaced it back in his pocket.

"Slept all day." He mumbled to himself. "Thas' not good." His eyes closed halfway against his will. "Need to get up."

"Hate to break it to ya, but you're not going anywhere. Staying right where you are." Gladio informed, rather strictly.

Prompto sighed heavily at that, "Hmm." He looked back to Noctis now and squinted, confusion gracing his features, "Why are you 'ere?" His frown deepened as he was trying to remember everything. "Uh, can't." He gave up and returned back to his original position in searching the sky.

Noctis asked his earlier question once again, "Prom, how do you feel?"

Prompto groaned at the question, but then decided to answer it, "Dunno." He tried to lift his arm again, only for it to flail uselessly at his side. "Can't move." His answer was so calm, like it wasn't registering. "Why can't I move?" The question wasn't directed at no one in particular, but Ignis answered anyway.

"You pushed your body too far, I'm afraid. That's what happens when you don't take it easy when you are instructed to."

"Oh." He seemed to accept that answer well enough.

"Go back to sleep." Gladio said, glancing down at him as he obviously struggled to stay awake,

"Slept enough." He declared, gazing up defiantly at the larger man, or as defiantly as one could in his state.

"Suit yourself." He knew it was only a matter of time before he gave back in, so he thought it best to let it go. He lowered his arm again, forcing Prompto to rest back once again in hopes that would knock him out faster. "Just don't go squirming around again."

"I won't." His eyes were already closed again. He took another deep breath before his breathing evened out again. And just like that, he was gone again.

"Won't be long now." Ignis informed the others, "The car is just up ahead, another half hour at the most." They all unconsciously quickened their pace, not much, but it was faster still. Within ten minutes they could see the Regalia, sitting just how they had left it.

Upon reaching it, Gladio slipped Prompto in the back seat, going around to the other side himself to pull him into his lap and supported his head with one hand, making sure it didn't move around too much. The other two wasted no time themselves, both getting in immediately and Ignis starting it before his door was even closed. And like that, they were on the road now, on the way to safety and relief as the weight was finally starting to be lifted from their shoulders.

* * *

Ignis pulled up to the first hotel he came across, parking the car and giving the other two instructions. He handed Noctis a generous amount of gil, "Get a room and get him situated, I'll go pick up some supplies. Be back as soon as I can." Gladio took Prompto back in his arms, lifting him with great care and followed Noctis up to the front counter, listening to the Regalia slowly fade away.

The woman at the desk gave them a a weird look, but thankfully didn't question it too much, she was probably used to this sort of thing in this area. "He's just tired." Gladio defended anyway.

"I understand." She answered cheerfully, clearly not buying it, but figuring it was none of her business and handed them the key to their room.

"Thanks." Noctis offered, taking the key.

They made there way to their room, carefully opening the door and inspecting the space. It was small, but it would do well enough. It was clean at least, which by this point felt like heaven to them. Gladio placed the blond on the single bed. As he was making him comfortable, Noctis looked for the bathroom, grabbing a cloth from the rail and soaking it in water before wringing it out.

He dabbed it at Prompto's face, finally ridding his features of all the red markings that tainted them. "That's a little better." He said once it was cleared up. "Still looks terrible, but at least it's somewhat relieving."

"Yeah, I'm sure he would appreciate it." Gladio agreed as he went to remove the gunslinger's boots. He placed them next to one of the two chairs in the room and took a seat, leaning back and relaxing for the first time since this all started. He watched Noctis as he rinsed out the cloth and proceeded to pace around the room aimlessly. "You know, you can take a seat now, he isn't going anywhere. Plus we can't do much until Iggy gets back anyway."

"I know." Noctis huffed out, but making no move to slow down. He continued for a few minutes and then decided maybe Gladio had a point. He dropped himself into the other chair and dropped his head into his hands. He felt the last few days starting to crumble down on him and he felt absolutely drained.

He wasn't sure how long he had been dozing off, but he was roughly pulled from his nodding by the closing of a door. His eyes snapped open and automatically locked in on Ignis as he stepped over the threshold. "I hope everything was in order while I was away." He spoke as he dropped a few vials onto the nightstand and picked up one of them.

"Nothing has changed." Gladio announced getting up from his seat to crouch down next to Prompto, knowing what was happening next. "How do you want to do this?" He asked before doing anything.

Ignis popped the vial open, "I would prefer if he were to actually drink it. We'll try to wake him up if we can."

Gladio nodded and placed a hand on Prompto's arm, squeezing lightly, "Hey, Prom." He said loud enough to be heard. When he got no response he shook him slightly, "Time to wake up buddy." Again nothing. This time he slip an arm under his shoulders and lifted him to where he was sitting up and tapped the side of his face. "Wakey wakey."

"It's fine Gladio, leave it be. I got a few just to be safe." He glanced over to the other three vials on the table. While the other was holding the blonde up, Ignis parted his lips with the mouth of the vial and poured a few drops in, making sure those went down easily. He continued this process until the entire thing was empty. "Lie him back down, we'll give this one some time."

Gladio eased his head back down on to pillow and stood back up, "How long should we expect it to take?"

"Give it a few minutes or so. If he shows no signs of waking up, then we'll give him another." He took a spot against the wall next to the bed and kept an eye on the young man, watching him ever vigilantly. Two minutes past with no changes. And then another two. By the fifth Ignis was already grabbing another vial and popping it open. Gladio acted on impulse and went to hold Prompto up again.

Like before, he attempted to wake him in the same manner, getting the same results, which were none. Ignis once again forced his mouth open and poured in a small amount. Though, he was a bit taken aback when he choked on it a bit this time and a little dripped down his chin. Ignis instantly ceased and took the vial away. "Prompto?" He asked, cupping his face in one hand.

His face scrunched up in obvious discomfort and he let out a small noise that couldn't really be qualified as anything.

Ignis spoke again, louder this time and with more authority to it, "Prompto, open your eyes if you can." It looked as if he were trying, but he was clearly making no progress, so he went back to pouring the liquid into his mouth. He was more careful with it this time though, not wanting a repeat of losing half of it. Luckily he took it a lot easier this time as it went down smoothly.

Once the second vial was gone, Gladio lowered him back down again. This time however, after the first minute they could hear a change in his breathing. It was heavier and a bit uneven, and soon after they heard another small sound come from his form. Louder than the first one, it seemed to be more of a groan than anything. Noctis was now by his side, clutching him by the wrist. "Come on Prom, we need you to wake up already. You've kept us waiting long enough."

Prompto whined again and tried to turn over to his side, but Gladio prevented him from doing so, "Sorry, no getting out of this." At the man's words the blond mumbled something under his breath, but they couldn't make out what it was, "Can you repeat that?" He asked, a meager amount of joy in his voice.

"Go 'way." Was what they heard as he failed to push them away. Finding his actions completely ineffective, he finally tried to tear his eyes open. He quickly closed them back as even the small amount of light in the room was enough to nearly blind him.

"Prompto, I want you to drink at least one more of these." Ignis said as he reached for a third vial. "I promise it will make you feel better." He didn't wait for a reply as he opened it and Gladio once again helped him sit up. He didn't fight against it, knowing it would have been no use and just let the others man handle him. Ignis held the vial for him again, seeing as his body was still far to wak for him to do it for himself.

He drank it without complaint, though with plain distaste. "That's good." Ignis praised, "Now you can rest for a bit."

Prompto nodded and wasted no more time and getting comfortable again and almost fell asleep at once. "You two should get some rest as well." Gladio proposed, you guys could use it." He took a place against the wall, leaving the two chairs for the others to take for themselves. They weren't the most inviting of furniture, but it was far more acceptable than the ground.

"Are you sure?" Noctis asked, "I mean, you were the on carrying him all that way."

"Noctis, look at him, do you really think that's enough to wear me down?" Gladio smiled at that. "Really, it's fine. I'll just sleep in the morning." He folded his arms over his chest and crossed one leg over the other. "Which means you better sleep while you can."

Ignis didn't hesitate any longer, taking the chair Gladio had been in. Noctis followed his example and returned to his own. With that they were both gone within the hour, leaving Gladio to watch over them until daybreak.

* * *

His head was pounding with force and vigor and he wanted nothing more than for it to just go away. He wanted to go back to where he felt nothing. But the pain prevented him from returning and did nothing but pull him further away from his peace. Trying to move his body, he found that even that was difficult, everything felt so heavy. It was strange. Next he tried to call out to someone but found his mouth incredibly dry and the only thing he could produce was a pitiful whimper, which was nothing short of embarrassing.

After that though, he was sure he could hear a low voice next to him; it was deep and familiar. Using that as leverage, he tried to convince his eyes to open, only succeeding partially. Everything was blurry though. The only things he could make out was one obscure form next to him and some dim light filtering through. Blinking a couple times helped to clear it a little. Not much, but it was enough to know that he was looking at Gladio. "Hey." He made out.

Prompto tried to reply, but nothing came out as his dry throat worked against him. "I'll be right back." He walked out of his line of sight and came back a few seconds later holding something. "Take a sip, it should help." He felt himself being lifted a bit as the rim of a glass was pressed against his lips. He tentatively took a few sips, relishing in its coolness as it ran down. He hadn't realized how thirsty he was until then, but Gladio pulled it away before he could get anymore, "Not so fast." Gladio warned before allowing him to take a few more sips.

"Thanks." Prompto said quietly, testing out his voice, which sounded very weak and unnatural to his ears. He cringed at it, knowing it must sound worse to Gladio. He glanced around, noting that they were indoors, "Where...where are we?"

"Hotel." Gladio answered flatly. "Ignis brought us to the first available place." Prompto nodded at this, or at least it sounded like something the man would do. He looked around a bit more to find said man sleeping not far away, and next to him was Noctis.

"How long have we been here?" He looked out the window seeing the fresh rays poking through the curtains.

"It's only been about ten hours or so I would say." Gladio replied checking the clock on his phone.

"And I've been asleep the whole time?" He sounded a little alarmed by the news.

"Well...not entirely, but basically. We tried waking you up, but your lazy ass refused to get up." Gladio placed the water on the table and leaned back against the wall. "Need me to wake up Iggy?" He asked, seeing the distress this knowledge brought the younger man.

"No, there's no need to wake them." He went to brush some hair out of his face, and his arm shook wit the effort, but at least he managed to carry out the task. "This sucks." He whispered to himself, staring down at his trembling hand.

"Like Iggy said earlier, that won't last long. As long as you do as your told, it won't anyway. That means no doing things when you are specifically told not to."

"Yeah yeah, I get it." Prompto half pouted. His attention was drawn to Noctis as a minor shuffling came from his direction. "Didn't mean to wake ya." Prompto greeted rather shyly.

"Nah, it's no big deal, I got enough sleep anyway. Not as much as you, but still, it was enough to function on." He stretched out his stiff muscles from sleeping in such a peculiar position. "I take it you're feeling better. Or you are making sense this time anyway, which is more than I can say about the last time you were talking."

"Wait, what?" Prompto asked, "Why, what was I saying?" He tried to push himself up in his flustered state, only to fall right back into the pillows.

Noctis couldn't help but smile at that, "Calm down, you didn't say anything embarrassing. You mainly just wanted to know what time it was." He reassured. "Are you feeling alright now though? And be honest, don't want you having another 'episode' on us and us not expect it."

Prompto thought about it, "Well, I mean I do feel sorta fine, I guess. Have a headache and feel like spaghetti, but other than that, alright I suppose. Or as good as I can." He looked over to Ignis who hadn't even twitched since he's been awake. "Must have really put him through a lot for him to sleep through all of this, huh?" He said flatly, feeling a little guilty about it.

"He did do all he could to try to help you, but he'll be alright. Just let him sleep, let him have his coffee later and he'll be as good as new." Gladio explained, "You on the other hand, may take a bit longer."

"Yeah, from the lack of mobility of my limbs, I'd believe that." Promtp joked with only half humor.

"You can start by going back to sleep. I'll let Ignis know you appreciated his help, and that you were awake, I guess." Noctis promised. "And Gladio, you can have my seat now, I think I'm good to go for today."

"Don't have to tell me twice." Gladio gladly took his chair/bed and let his own dreams carry him away, leaving the two youngest to themselves.

"You sure, you're alright?" Noctis asked again, wanting to be sure of the blonds health. Unable to completely push aside his concern.

"I told you already, I think so. I mean, how am I supposed to know, it's not like I was ever really feeling 'bad' ya know."

"Ok, I'll take your word for it. But you should also know, that you owe us big time. And you owe Ignis new gloves."

Prompto blushed slightly remembering the nose bleed, luckily for him he didn't know about that other part. "Yeah, I think I can do that much for him." He relaxed a bit more into the sheets, glancing between the three of them. He knew he owed them so much more than that.


End file.
